Before covid we didn't really care, but covid makes us yearn for bigger, detached housing
Wouldn't full time WFH make that easier to do? Presumably you live in a small one bedroom apartment because it's within commute distance of work. If your employer stuck with WFH, then you could move to a house in a small town, probably for less money than you're paying for the apartment.
I have been noticing a line like this in job ads lately:
"this is a remote position but candidates must be able to commute to the office"
As long as they are up front about the commute requirements (once a week, once a month, once a quarter, whatever), that's fine. Employees can decide how far away they are willing to live.
I might be willing to do a 90 minute commute once a month, but not once a week. If once a quarter, then I'd even be willing to fly in at my own expense.
My home "office" is a corner of our tiny bedroom (that said, my home office setup is still vastly superior to my work office setup).
That said, I still vastly prefer WFH. I don't have to waste time on a miserable commute, and my office environment is just plain old dreary, depressing - probably the case for most offices for "old school" companies (vs. hot and hip Silicon Valley style tech companies). I've mentioned this in other posts, but I can imagine being happier at the office if the environment wasn't so depressing and dystopian.