Perhaps it's the pregnancy, but I literally burst into tears when this announcement was made (camera off, muted, lol.) I would NOT have taken this job 6 months ago if I knew this was on the table. In fact, in my offer letter discussion I emailed about it (and had it in writing) that going into the office on occasion was good for meeting any coworkers that I'd have regular contact with (as it turns out, nobody on my team even works in my city) but that it was totally optional. They're starting with 1 day a week but clearly planning to ratchet it up more after that. Obviously not going to say which company this is, but it's not a big mega-company that everyone would know or anything.
My manager, luckily, agrees with me. This is why it wasn't an issue in hiring- he was totally on board with the fact that I would very rarely come into the office (I would go in if there was a specific reason- so far that hasn't happened.) He works remotely and also doesn't work near anyone on our team. We would both be mandated to go in once a week (to start) to just be on zoom with people in other cities. So doing what we do now, but with more noises/distractions, having to wear headphones and find quiet rooms, etc. That's literally it.
Being 5 months pregnant, I'm not really comfortable in any crowded indoor locations, and having a toddler, I need to be able to pick him up from part-time preschool. It's just absurd. Decisions like this- made AFTER hiring was made on a permanent WFH basis- discriminate against working parents, not to mention all the other demographics who are more productive and happy working from home. I get that people used to work in an office 5x/week but I wasn't hired to do that, and times are changing. Companies used to not offer health insurance or paternity leave. Maternity leave used to be 6 weeks, now I see 4-6 months regularly.
The truth is, forcing people back into the office is not going to cull the “lazy” workers. It's going to cull people who know they can get hired somewhere else, who are probably some of the better performers. It's also going to cull people from marginalized identities (think about how many engineers have autism) who work better at home. Not to mention all the working parents (especially moms) who might just stop working entirely- which to be clear, I could do, and I might do, but I'd prefer not to do because I'd rather pay for my son's college than for him to have to be in student loan debt.
They even said “this is for your mental health.” Like I'm sorry, what? I already know the office exists. If it was good for my mental health, I already have the choice to go in.