For what it's worth, I've recently been interviewing candidates who straight-up resigned from their previous employer after facing a "return to work" ultimatum.

For what it's worth, I've recently been interviewing candidates who straight-up resigned from their previous employer after facing a "return to work" ultimatum. You can too! I'd like to add that there is a big difference between "most of the company is in-office with some remote workers" and "company is fully distributed including leadership" - with the former, it's not necessarily a positive work environment being the remote person when everyone else is talking to each other in the conference room (or in the hallway). In other words, even if you do negotiate an exception to your employer's return-to-office policy, it's likely not a good career move. There are plenty of companies out there who have transitioned to remote-first, and the technical skill-set is still highly prized. Take advantage!