The same geniuses who said putting back offices in Asia and working async across massive time differences would be a boon now say you have to sit next to somebody to be productive.
A teammate here in the Bay Area is currently collaborating with someone in Israel. It is possibly the worst time zone difference I’ve seen. Worse than Japan/California has been for me.
I once flew from NY to Alberta for a key meeting where the stakeholders didn't come in to their own office and we did the whole thing over the phone. I once spent two days at a different client's office while they were WFH.
A lot of the people who make money for the bank were already doing much of their job over email long before the pandemic. (Which directly led to proving the LIBOR scandal.) The longer I’ve been working under my own part-time return to office requirement, the less I think it’s about the day-to-day work.
I personally benefit from having a dedicated place where work “lives” that is separate from my home. This helps me shift into a work “mode”. I know some people claim their routines are equally successful, but mine simply aren’t. In the office, I am surrounded by people who are also actively spending time in the same problem space. I’m not constantly pulled back into the domestic world by walking into the kitchen.
I see zero point in coming into the office