They are never going to be able to put that toothpaste back in the tube. Once people saw that they could get their work done just as well from home....that it was not actually necessary to commute into the office and burn a lot of their time and money doing so, they were never going to be forced back to the office like before. Companies can force those on the lowest rungs back in all the time. Any workers who have leverage however, will be able to insist on 100% remote work. Companies which refuse are simply not going to get the skills and experience they want.
That’s already been happening.
It works both ways. If I can work from anywhere, the employees can also be from anywhere. This is a good way to hire third world employees without bringing them in the country.
I suspect that may have been partly the intent when corporations created remote work.
“Once people saw that they could get their work done just as well from home...”
Most do not. There is a reason few people learn online as well as they learn in classes.
“they could get their work done just as well from home”
The “just as well” part seems to be an issue. Employers I’ve known via church, Tea Party, etc., have said that the work done by from-home people (generally) is half-assed. A common thread, too, is that they were trouble makers when in the office, too.
Me ... been retired since 2008, and I guess I don’t really care how they work it out. Covid caused many problems, and there were positive unintended (by government) consequences, too. Move toward home schooling is one.