1) The vast majority of work is NOT "knowledge work"--it is schlepping things around. Who are the biggest employers and what do they do?
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_largest_employers_in_t...
Take a good look at that list. It's almost ALL about schlepping things around. That's takes people--in person.
2) Short term is incompatible with real social existence.
You have bills every month. Your child is stuck in a specific school for 3/4 of a year or more. You're going to your sister's wedding next year.
Sure, maybe if I'm a brogrammer in the Bay Area with no life, I don't care about getting upended continually. The rest of us with lives need money and need it on a schedule.
3) Most people aren't productive remotely because they are barely productive in person.
The vast majority of people are simply not productive without some level of oversight. Most companies don't need unicorn productivity, they simply need people to produce a little something every day. Most people working most jobs don't want to think or work too hard, do want to do a little something and then simply go home to their real lives.