Big companies are already dragging people back—Amazon, JPMorgan, Google. Power flows to whoever signs the paychecks, and they want butts in seats. Office-first wins.
Office-first wins because leaders still tie promotion, trust, and power to presence. Remote will stay common, but the default career track is back in the building.
Commercial real estate is bleeding out and top talent won't tolerate commutes. Fully remote is the only way companies survive the next talent war.
Office-first wins. Bosses are already mandating returns to fix culture and output, and that pressure won't ease in five years.
