This is the conundrum, right? A lot of people dislike having no direction, especially with a lot of local people. My employer for example has one Thursday-Frida

This is the conundrum, right? A lot of people dislike having no direction, especially with a lot of local people. My employer for example has one Thursday-Friday every month where the policy is basically "go into your local office, if you are within a commutable distance, and you want to go in." 'Commutable distance' is intentionally undefined, as the goal is for each person to decide whether they are a commutable distance or not. I had a job where I had a 50 minute commute but it was all back roads and I was going 50-60mph the entire time. It was fine, even enjoyable in nice weather. I've also had jobs where I sit on an interstate parking lot for 25 minutes each day and it was hell. "Preferred in-office" makes sense when it's not as you described. It all just boils down to how much you can trust your boss and their boss, and whether you believe the company will make a good faith effort to communicate policy changes to you effectively. There's always the risk of someone you've never met getting a promotion and all of a sudden the definition of "preferred" changes but isn't communicated.