Something I never see mentioned is that business leadership is rarely just in it for the money. For some people, power over others isn't a responsibility. For some people, the power they feel from managing people is THE goal of work.

So yeah, of course corporate politicians want RTO. Exercising power in a WFH company, even when they still hold power over someones life, is an abstract, intellectual thing. But the people who need power, need it at an emotional, visceral level. They need those IRL interactions to satisfy their ID. It's gross, but it needs to be said because some people are sweet and naive to the nature of those who pursue power.

And even grosser, men specifically often pursue careers of power with an additional motivation: They get something out of their professional relationships with women that they can't get from their non-professional relationships with women. They can get this without breaking the law, upsetting HR, or even do something worthy of being canceled. I'm glad we live in an era where most of these sharks are afraid to prey, but throwing young people in a shark infested waters is still... well, quite a bit more than just bullshit. IMO, pandering to these mediocre monsters is morally indefensible. Especially accounting for the environmental impacts (doubling of personal co2 emissions.)