I have been a remote worker since before the pandemic as well and I am lucky enough to have been able to remain in that position. I have worked at an in person

I have been a remote worker since before the pandemic as well and I am lucky enough to have been able to remain in that position. I have worked at an in person company, a hybrid company, and a fully remote company. I think what we are witnessing here is more of a labor negotiation and businesses navigating new trade offs they have to make. It is difficult to measure employee productivity and in particular how productive employees will be after years of remote work. From my subjective experience, remote work is worse from a productivity standpoint and it is hard for me to imagine how it could not be. The communication bandwidth in person is just so much higher. Logistics around scheduling and communication are just way easier. I notice participation in and meaningful discussion in meetings is significantly higher in person. Psychologically, it is easier for me to be motivated and pay attention in person. I have heard others report this but it may just be a matter of personal preference. That said, I like living where I live, I have connections here, and being asked to move for a job and start over is a massive ask. The older I get the more massive it will become. I would quit my job before relocating if that meant a pay cut. So my employer and I have conflicting interests. They would get more productivity from me if I relocated, but I don't want to. I am not saying that I am valuable in particular, but there is a significant group of people like me that are part of a remote talent pool. This pool grew quite a bit during the pandemic giving us more leverage. By being willing to hire from this pool companies open themselves up to new talent, often at a better price than they could get in areas where talent is in higher demand. This is not just top talent but also affordable, solid talent. Some employees want to be able to work remotely and if you as a company are willing to deal with the challenges of remote work this can essentially be another form of compensation so you can hire talent you may not be able to otherwise afford. Right now people are still experimenting and feeling around this new landscape. Companies are testing the water to see what they can get away with. There will probably be some growing pains before we reach a new equilibrium.