I really hate the push to stop WFH so I decided to put together a list of the cons/reasons businesses have according to me. These are just my opinion and don’t necessarily have bases in fact. Anyway in no particular order:
1.) To have total control of employees (like children) — they can watch you and make sure you’re on task and even scold you if you take too many bathroom breaks. Bosses also depend social norms and peer pressure so if they aren’t watching someone else is.
2.)To secretly steal employees wage (wage theft)— once at work you should be getting paid, not after logging in or getting through check-in gates. Being 15 min early means they stole a quarter of an hour salary from you and don’t forget breaks, that bosses will interrupt any chance they can. If you are working you should be getting paid it is illegal otherwise.
3.)To make employees poorer — you have to pay for gas/transportation to get to/from work and while at work you’re more inclined to buy lunch. Often there “peer pressure” for group outings or donations/gifts. Then with the more time spent at work, which I will discuss later, there’s less free time and there have been studies that show people spend more when their free time is limited. All off this spending just means you have to work more.
4.)To steal employees free time — this is so easily done first with the commute to work and secondly getting work appropriate. Then while at work you are asked to stay late and may be guilted not only by your boss but by your coworkers (misery loves company) as well. So you had spent all day with a view of your family and pets and now you see them 3 hours before bed if you don’t do anything else.
5.)To stop employees from interviewing other places — bosses have realize that with WFH you are able to take an interview whenever you want and no one would know because most interviews are online now anyway which gives employees AMAZING power.
I know there are probably lots more reasons but I can’t think of them. I can’t believe I was so ignorant of all the illegal bullshit I had witnessed over the years. Life is unfair but at least we can report some of the bullshit. The NLRB is your friend https://www.nlrb.gov/ .