A very common reason is because you’re not clerical staff, you’re courtiers. The bosses want an office with people running around hurriedly doing busy stuff, which accounts for a lot of the bullshit jobs that workers are assigned, not that they need to be done, but to serve as a Tiger Repellant Rock. Or the bear patrol, which is from the same Simpsons episode.
A more conscious answer is that offices had been leased out for years at a time, and leaving them empty would mean they go to waste. While this means workers time is wasted (commute, prepping lunch out etc.) they don’t care about that as much.
When RTO orders became required (RTO or be laid off / RTO or get reassignment) that was part of the ownership class reasserting their dominance over a working class who was suddenly in demand after the lockdown and post-epidemic period. It was notable that even the Democratic officials were glad to memory-hole all the progressive programs that manifested to facilitate business during the lockdown. In fact, the telecommute controversy became the keystone issue, since workers learned they were happier and did better work at home. But the boss wanted to see them labor in their cubicle.
We suck at retaining class consciousness, or the super-giant conservative propaganda machine is really good at suppressing it. Seriously, FOX News and OAN are poison.
SoftestSapphic@lemmy.world 3 days ago
Commercial property owners are lobbying Congress to force RTO because their properties will lose value if people work from home.
Shortsighted local governments like RTO because it forces people to be stuck in a part of town where they are more likely to patronize local buisnesses.
What they all look past is the growing resentment not just for RTO, but this entire system where we sacrifice our time and dignity for the cred of our politicians and the moneynof our slave masters.
Disaster@sh.itjust.works 3 days ago
my organization rto’d very early on after the pandemic, and promptly lost 40% of their staff who retired. It’s an old place, demographically. I can guarantee that everyone forced back in was refusing (and continues to refuse) to buy anything for lunch and brown-bags out of spite, especially given some dummies were stupid enough to claim that as the reason. Lots of eateries continuing to shut down in the area, and you know what? nobody cares. In attempting to “save” something, they’ve practically guaranteed its demise by pissing off an entire generation.