Your company sounds (sounded) like a communal environment. I work in such a place; my fellow employees are Jewish and share the same religious and cultural values. I could only work at that kind of place, especially given today's wokeness (and antisemitism).
During COVID we were forced to work at home for 5 months, and some of the older employees decided to retire rather than come back. I miss them.
The atmosphere and dynamics changed when I got back. However, the hiatus from the office instilled in me an insecurity. I needed to return to the office, not only because much of my work involved public contact and physical work (handling materials, etc.), but I needed to prove my usefulness -- and flexibility, the willingness to come to work when needed.
It was this flexibility (and the grace of G-d) that kept me from getting laid off this summer. My supervisor fought to keep me, and even moved me to a higher position.
Working from home might indicate to some an indifference to the company or a very easy, cushy job. While no one is irreplaceable, some might seem more unnecessary. Today is a bad time to be a prima donna.
It was.
We always had things like baby showers in a conference room before someone left on maternity leave; informal groups would take someone out to lunch for their birthday; we would have conference room going-away celebrations when someone transferred to a different part of the corporation or retired; things like that.
-PJ