As a manager, I don’t care where the hell you are if you’re productive and available when you need to be. And no manager worth their salt in my org currently thinks otherwise.

This is all a game played by C-level executives who want warm bodies in the office chairs they paid money for so the buildings they leased/built are full and look like a hive of activity. It’s Optics + Real Estate + Finance + Status Quo mixed with a bit of “back in my day”.

Don’t forget some of these companies got tax write-offs or rebates by agreeing to lease in a certain city and stimulate the local economy with X number of workers. Then they signed off millions of dollars to build/lease office space and outfitted it with desks and chairs and networking and everything else required.