I do notice this big push from a lot of banks to try to get employees and contractors to come back to the office at least on a hybrid basis. I refuse. I am able to work from home and thanks to my experience level am desirable enough to employers to keep getting contracts to work from home. As long as I have any choice in the matter, I’m not going back to the office. If I’m forced to do so and I can get another gig that let’s me work from home, I’ll quit the one that makes me come into the office ASAP.
There is no advantage to coming into the office. They just want to be able to look over your shoulder all day even when you don’t have something to do. Its a huge waste of time and money to me.
I agree and I am in the same boat but I was working from home for about 6 years prior to COVID.
Most have huge, expensive office leases in place that can't be ended for many years. Chance of subleasing - close to zero. They have no choice but to order everyone back and make the best of it.
Work-from-home not only threatens the company's bottom line but that of commercial property owners as well - and those vast, newly vacant office buildings underpin a whole lot of retirement funds. If CRE crashes down to a true market value, our whole financial system could come down with it.
The theater must go on.
I finally convinced the senior manager who manages my project to let me keep working from home ... the turning point was when he realized that my 500+ square-foot office space is bigger and better than what his company's CEO has.
The elephant in the room is that the banks are sitting on probably trillions in mortgages for office buildings and the mortgage holders need to lease the space to pay the banks.
Who would want to pay full boat for space that people only use maybe some of the time and not all the time?
This is why a hybrid or full wfh will not be considered for many who could otherwise do so