Many places still have record low unemployment; meaning that employers have to compete for the best people. And working from home is a perk that is easy to give

Many places still have record low unemployment; meaning that employers have to compete for the best people. And working from home is a perk that is easy to give away. Saves on office cost and keeps people happy. Win win. Having to lease large offices is expensive (though probably about to get a lot cheaper given they are all empty) and having to twist people's arms to make them spend time in it is not a great basis for keeping people happy. They'll get to reflect on the futility of their commute to and from cubicle hell twice a day and might conclude the grass is greener next doors and simply might change job to some place with a better work/life balance. Usually, it's the best people that leave first. People with options tend to go for the nicest ones. That might change if unemployment goes up. Job security for remote workers might not be as strong as for people in the office. When companies have to decide about who to let go, the people they'd miss the least will be at the top of the list. I.e. remote people are at a disadvantage. Either way, I don't think the clock will be reverted to pre 2020 anytime soon. Companies should move on, adapt, and focus on how to make this new reality work for them. Save cost on offices and travel. Provide access to co-working spaces. Tap into the global labor market instead of hiring locally. Ironically, for some places in the world this is a problem in the sense that this drives down rates. I'm seeing that the freelance market has gotten a lot tougher in the last years. I'm competing with people all over Europe. The fact that I'm in Berlin is of relatively low value to my clients.