Absolutely, it's like any other worsening of the working conditions. When I've had a conflict of sorts with my direct manager, I also started looking elsewhere

Absolutely, it's like any other worsening of the working conditions. When I've had a conflict of sorts with my direct manager, I also started looking elsewhere for job opportunities. Obviously in those other potential workplaces the same thing could happen, but in the current job I already know it has happened, so a coin flip is a (perceived) improvement. (Also when negotiating a new contract with a working-from-office company, there's a better chance of getting a hybrid model than if you're already an employee.)