I am not an office worker, but during a period I call "hell year", I was forced to work in a cubicle rather than doing my blue-collar, skilled labor work. I was absolutely miserable, and management was doing everything they could to retaliate against me for reporting, with lots of proof, an issue. Anyway...
I fantasized a lot, but knew eventually I'd be able to go back to the job I love (or a similar one), I just refused to do it at my old location. So, I couldn't do anything to get myself in trouble because if I did anything wrong at all, I'd be hammered for it, no matter how often it was done by others or how common it was.
So, some things I did just to stay sane... I took a lot of bathroom breaks. A lot. And they'd usually last 15 minutes. Usually once an hour, sometimes twice. Sorry if management was causing "gut issues"!
I started listening to "Duo Lingo" on my phone (I was going to be going to Europe, including a few days visiting some French distant relatives, and wanted to be able to communicate at least a little). I just set it up so I didn't have to do the "speak into the microphone" portion.
I'd listen to whatever work-inappropriate music I had on hand (with headphones, of course), mostly alt-rock stuff, but had other music in there as well.
My lunch became strictly mine. If anyone tried to talk to me about work while I was on lunch, I would shut it down, or let them talk and start my clock over. We get a 1/2 hour unpaid lunch and I would not spend a second of that time with work stuff (I'd leave the office, but still people would track me down).
I did not use my cell phone for work. I was going to do a few site visits and my boss wanted me to call her for phone meetings, whatever. I told her I only had about 100 minutes/month on my phone (which was true at the time) and I would not use them up for work. If she needed me, she could leave a message and I'd call back from a site phone. I would also not have work email access, and no, I would not be using my personal email. They could not force me to use my personal stuff for work.
I did nothing in a hurry. I did my duties 100%, but not in a rush, and not a thing more.
I also got very exact about how I did them. I made sure to look up policies and then follow them exactly. My vacation required some extra video watching, training, a meeting, etc, even though it was personal travel (because it was international and is a requirement for us if we are leaving the country. We even have to keep the documentation of the training, etc, for several years.) I only knew about this because it was brought up after my first international trip (I didn't get in trouble, but was informed that it's something I should have done.) When I gave my boss my itinerary for the day, I included this training, which would take a few hours. She got pissed! I got a rapid-fire email about "Why are you doing this? Who said you have to do it? I've never heard anything about this so you must be making this up! Why have I never heard about this? How many people know this? Who's lane is it in to make sure everyone knows? (HTF should I know? that)" So, I pulled out the original email I got about it years earlier. I found a link to the policy on our intranet. I verified with another office that it was still a requirement. Then I sent it all to her and she had to let me do it, even though she thought I was trying to get away with something. We had a ton of ridiculous policies, but I make sure to follow every single one to the letter, no matter how much time it took or the amount of resources it required. What I could have done in five minutes would now take at least an hour, sometimes days, because, well, "policies". If I was asked a question in email, even if I knew the answer, I'd go ahead and look up several sources and cite them in my response.
When I got locked out of the building (my badge was only good for x number of days, and they had extended that but didn't get the badge date updated) I sat in the car and called her office, leaving a voicemail (to be fair, I didn't have anyone else's number, but I also gave zero bothers about the wasted time). I think I sat in the car for three hours before she called me back, then it took at least another hour for her to arrange for someone to activate it again. Had she not been there that day, I would have just sat in the car until it was time to go home.
I'm so glad hell year is over and I hope to never work at a desk again in my life, ever!
If the being vested is worth staying six more months on YOUR terms, then do it. But don't let them take more from you than they have shown they deserve. Do nothing off the clock--don't answer texts, emails, etc (assuming they aren't providing your phone and it's actually part of your job). Don't take work home with you, except what you work on during your work-from-home day. Microwave the stinky food, eat kimchi at your desk, eat lots of beans and broccoli so you get really bad gas. Whistle in the hallway, practice greeting people in different languages, wear sunglasses, take all the personal days you can get away with. Run full virus scans on your computer at least daily if that's something you can do (you're keeping the computer safe! Slowing it way down is just a side effect.) Read the manuals for everything you work with. Leave little rubber ducks on people's desks. Quote obscure movies from the 80s, or rattle off weird little sayings ("Off like a herd of turtles!" "Handier than a pocket on a t-shirt", "Don't try this at home", "Well that just dills my pickle"...) Don't speak to management unless it is 100% work related (nod if they say "hi", shrug your shoulders if asked how your weekend was, whatever).
And, if after the 6 months you know there is a big project coming up where they "need" you, put in your notice with a big smile on your face.
