I agree.

For some, they've restructured to no longer pay for child care (upwards of $40K/year) and commute (upwards of $2000/year). It's not just "work in the office." It's "you've priced us out of the city and you don't pay us enough to support the commute and the cost of childcare."

For some, they've restructured to become more productive at home > office. Less distractions, and better work/life balance (e.g., working out, preparing food at home). Back-to-office brings up anxiety, and disrupts that new healthy flow-state.

For me, I like working in the office. I like the 20-30 min. commute time to prepare for work and wind down from work mentally. I also value the separation of work and home. I tend to overwork at home because it's always there. I also believe it's safer to work on certain projects in-office rather than at-home, for various reasons. I also understand I am in the minority.

So when companies say and do things like "we're not giving you raises/cost-of-living salary adjustments, and you need to come in to work or you're fired," it's hard to make sense of it. Because we know it's more about the company keeping its real estate than us being productive workers.

There are notable exceptions, for sure. This is a gross simplification of the work climate.