The return-to-office orders have taken on new weight amid a softening labor market and broader economic anxiety.
A lot can change over the course of five years — especially if they happen to follow a norm-shattering, once-in-several-generations pandemic.
In the white-collar workplace, the pandemic meant a sudden shift to remote work. And just as the world started to return to normal with the arrival of COVID vaccines, companies and their employees entered a cold war over return-to-office mandates.
Now, five years out, the work-from-where debate is reaching a fever pitch. Earlier this year, corporate giants such as Amazon and JPMorgan Chase — as well as much of the US federal government — ordered employees to return to the office a full five days a week. More recently, Paramount and Novo Nordisk have declared an end to remote work, while Microsoft and NBCUniversal beefed up their hybrid work requirements....