Recommendations for Remote vs. Colocated Teams

I think the most important point is that working in-office should be the strong default. Sometimes even employers seem to think of this too haphazardly while their company suffers from workers being unable to do the socializing part of interacting with coworkers normally, and it being too easy and inviting to cheat the company. So many things come automatically when people are in the office, but require a lot of managerial skill and effort to "re-implement" when a company switches to a significantly more remote configuration. I've seen this both crashing and burning in company A and being almost incredibly well executed in company B, where both did basically the same business in similar structures.

I read that a _lot_ of the RTO criticism seem to more about politics, where arguers indirectly want workers to be able to be paid the same for less, or sometimes even being paid for nothing. Being a non-financially driven developer who has been both an employee and employer in a few small companies I can't say I have a lot of respect for those arguments that seem to ignore one's own earned dignity from meaningful work. (not saying there's any around here)

I work in a scientific lab. COVID+WFH has created a clear divide among our workforce. There are essentially two groups: those who have the flexibility to work remotely and those who can't. The first group deals with scientific equipment in a laboratory environment, making remote work unfeasible. I fall into the latter group as my primary role involves software development.

I have a hunch that at some point, management might call upon remote workers to return. It's not about trust or productivity. (If it is they do a good job in hiding it.) The primary driving force behind RTO is our customers, who primarily work in-office, along with those who are required to be on-site. They perceive remote workers to be receiving an additional perk.