RTO won't change everything, but I suppose I agree with the sentiment. US employees will never be the lowest wage compared to foreign labor so we'll have to find ways to compete against the global labor market in which we can win. Being in-office is a solid trump card and upper management loves to see their employees in the office space.
Yes, right. It’s a lot easier to fire someone without any human connection.
Wasn't there stories from the FAANG utopia that people in office found out they were fired by their key cards not working at the doors?
Approach it from the positive. Even with all of the remote tools and fancy apps, the connection of team that is in-person every day is night and day compared to a fully remote team. In-person, we can easily build relationships and have random conversions, assist team members without being a bother and make it easy for the frontline dev teams to meet and get to know their upper management team. Many companies will pay a premium for labor if they believe to be getting something in return for it.