If this becomes the norm then it's the end of SF as a tech hub. A big move for a company paying the sorts of salaries it does.
People love to predict this, they seek it. Perhaps it feels like pushing against some establishment (when it's serving another establishment). It's trendy now, which affects people who follow trends, but trends change fast. Talented people want to be around other talented people; smart, intellectually curious people want to live where there are great restaurants, arts, beauty, sophisticated people, etc. I don't think that will change.
What establishment do you think it's serving? To me, a return to the smaller cities where many of us grew up, or better yet, never leaving in the first place, feels like decentralization, which many of us think is a good thing.
> intellectually curious people want to live where there are great restaurants, arts, beauty, sophisticated people, etc.
This strikes me as elitist, especially the mention of "sophisticated people". Now that I've returned to my home city, in what Americans often call flyover country, I appreciate hanging out with ordinary people. True, when I do karaoke, I hope the other singers will be good (speaking of arts and beauty), but there are good karaoke singers everywhere.
And G employees won't tolerate the forcing to be in office even if a ton like it. It seems they're the ones always demanding more from the employer (someone has to!).