I work for a company that is insisting all employees return to the office at least 3 days a week giving the same bullshit reasons we’ve all been hearing. They even advertise it as a perk to prospective hires.
Thing is this company has spent the last 30 years and likely hundreds of millions of dollars gentrifying the corner of my city where they set up shop and not having us here as props to maintain their image as an economic leader in this town is too much for them to handle. They have the money and reputation to get local government involved including a speech from our state governor at a ground breaking ceremony to a new addition to the “campus” (this was pre Covid and attendance was mandatory for on site staff). Whatever the policy turned out to be it’s obviously lip service to the current trends and they’ll go back on it regardless of how much talent they lose in departments with low retention rates.
I’ve was very vocal throughout the pandemic on what I thought the policy should be post pandemic among other things like being upset by an executive saying “what’s that?” when I asked about cost of living adjustments during a salary freeze. I filled out every survey, made my opinions know on multiple occasions to my department head, and stand by all of it.
I’m in discussions with my manager about making an exception for myself and continuing to work from home but what gets me is the number of people I work who don’t question the policy at all and gleefully accept being pulled back here. Maybe I’m not a “culture fit” but listening to people gush about how great it is being in the office so grown adults unironically discuss their hogwarts house with their coworkers is not it.