I've gone back and forth from being in management and just a straight up IC. As an IC, I love "work wherever you want and we also have an office and we trust yo

I've gone back and forth from being in management and just a straight up IC. As an IC, I love "work wherever you want and we also have an office and we trust you." But that said: People that judge managers that want a return to the office as "incompetent" in my opinion misunderstand competence. Competence isn't a spectrum. It's a function that depends on inputs and is matched to some selection of innate traits and acquired skills. As a manager, if I'm supposed to be managing remote, I absolutely need frequent one-on-ones. I have ADHD that I can't take meds for, and the inattentivety is real. Not to be confused with a lack of conscientiousness, I am much better at managing people in person because I can pick up on social cues in a way that remote just can't. And yes, many workers don't go straight to management when they're stuck. They quietly twiddle their thumbs, and if you dear reader are being honest with yourself, you know this is true at least for a sizeable portion of the workforce. So my advice here if you're a manager: Daily one-on-ones in the morning with defined goals and blockers. For the most dedicated, weekly is fine. Don't force in office if you don't need it for real work to be done. But make work success clear. If you're an employee getting pressured to come in: Ask your manager for a daily one-on-one for two weeks to see if they get the sense that things improve first. They can always say "no" and you can always leave.