My conspiracy theory is that this is a concerted effort for RTO - once everybody's experienced six months of unemployment, used up all their savings and moved back in with their parents, going back to a daily commute won't seem so bad.
If you move back in with your parents and your expenses decline, why go back to the commute? If anything, you can be much more picky about the job you can take as you have unlimited runaway as long as your parents let you stay (and something like 50% of Millennials and Gen Z are moving/living with parents).
https://archive.ph/fD4Bp | https://fortune.com/2023/09/26/millennials-gen-z-living-with... ("Moving back in with your parents is so common now that it’s nearly lost its stigma")
https://archive.ph/0E7r4 | https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2023-09-20/nearly-ha... ("Nearly Half of All Young Adults Live With Mom and Dad — and They Like It")
https://archive.ph/xt7PH | https://fortune.com/2022/10/24/gen-z-delays-homebuying-retir... ("Gen Zers don’t think they’ll ever own a home, and are buckling up for long-term financial instability")
Like the Chinese say, “lay flat.” If your life would've been "move out, work a few decades in a job you likely don't enjoy, eventually inherit parent's house at death", why not just skip the grind and live with them until they die, maximizing happiness in your best years if this is the environment these folks must operate in.
https://www.cnbc.com/2022/08/12/job-unhappiness-is-at-a-stag...
Perhaps there will be a total split in the job market as most look for remote jobs and relocation bonuses have to be perpetual to attract people in.