> common-sense conclusion that junior people need more direct supervision is clearly sugarcoating it for junior recipients for whom the message is intended.

I see this being repeated ad-nauseam. I don't really buy that at all. I have seen junior employees that performed and evolved fine on remote settings, on teams that had effective remote collaboration.

IMO, this is a lie that people that really miss working from offices grasping at straws to muddy the conversation with some kind of plausible deniability.