Would you rather...

I can't answer that.

For one, you left off "Be retired and commute to things when it's fun and affordable enough" which is where I am now.

When I worked, I had a very physical job for around 5 years, and I lived close to it. I could walk or bike there. It was pretty fun, the management tolerable, and I was pretty happy.

Later, I had a job that got more and more sedentary as the years rolled on, and that had health consequences because I didn't make it a point to increase movement in my personal life, so I got fat and out of shape. But most of the time the management was OK, I liked my colleagues, and the work was interesting challenging (if sometimes pretty stressful). It was a little further commute, but still only a few minutes away by car.

But more on point: I don't really care how physical my job is or isn't, as long as it isn't injury-causing and I'm competently capable of what's required. I don't think I'd care whether it was at home or out (never had an at-home one). But I hateHateHATE a long commute, especially if it's a drive. Don't enjoy driving so it's stressful, we have severe-ish Winter besides, and it's a major time suck.

I don't think it's my job's job to keep me active enough for general health. The job is allowed to prioritize other rewards (enjoyment, challenge, good management, good colleagues, higher pay or benefits, etc.). The "move enough to stay healthy" is on me. Early in my career, I let myself down.

After a major health crisis (cancer) in my mid-40s, I kept working at the same job, but got much more active in my personal time, and actually became reasonably fit. I could've done that earlier, and that would've been a better plan.

I work from home, but I don't sit for 8 hours a day. I do regular workouts before work and over lunch and I pace during calls, so I get at least 20k steps a day.

My current arrangement suits me fine. I work at an office desk job but get up and walk a lot to use the printer/copier, go speak with someone, check my mail bin, and I make a point of walking to the furthest bathroom downstairs. My commute is 10 - 15 minutes and most of it is on main roads that are priority for plowing so not even that hazardous in winter.

As enticing as "work from home" is, I actually like getting up, getting dressed and going to the office. Then when I'm done, I can leave my work and sign off for the day. Our software is locked to the office WiFi and server so I can't log in outside of the realm of the business and it's actually nice to be able to tell people,"I'm out of the office and I'll respond when I'm back." It helps to differentiate between "work" and "home." Sometimes I wish I could work from home temporarily but I wouldn't want that for the long term. Sure, I'd get a lot more working out done if I worked from home but having an office job doesn't prevent me from still having an active life.

The jobs I've had that were active (meaning, being on my feet the whole day) left me feeling extremely drained and sore with absolutely no desire to work out. I think I kept my same weight instead of losing any pounds, too. So... computer jobs all the way!