Many companies are turning away from the working-from-home revolution.

At the start of this decade, when anyone in an office job had no other choice, it really seemed like we were onto something, with a realization in the working world that a lot of jobs could be done pretty much anywhere if the roles were filled by the right kind of employee. A growing number of people got to make their workplace wherever home was, cutting out that pesky commute and allowing them more freedom than the 40 hour work week had ever given them before. Running a quick errand without eating into a lunch break or turning the camera off in the Teams meeting and staying in pajamas all day were suddenly possible.

However, after the necessity of remote work went away, a lot of managers decided that they would rather keep workers under the watchful eye of a centralized office, and those who rented out said offices were eager to make money from them again. Hybrid and WFH roles still exist, of course, but many who worked remotely previously have found that their workplace wants them working where they can keep an eye on them. It is a (kind of) return to tradition.