I mean it is true. You can tell people are less concerned about their jobs ( anecdotally, my McD messes up my order a lot more often now ), but to me it only proves management had an easy ride the past few decades. Now they actually have to work.
Heavens.
Except for those tools that have always been maintained by remote collaborators since it became possible with the internet connecting open source software engineers from around the world. Plus all the businesses that have always been remote.
Then learn to be a better manager rather than making a whole bunch of people miserable to save yourself the hassle of improving.
When you WFH that changes ('aint nobody watching your screen but you) but the underlying problem still remains. The team are not working towards a clear goal that they understand and want to achieve. When you provide that, the team will always contribute effectively because its interesting and importantly allows them to feel like their work means something.
WFH productivity is not the problem. Managers providing worthy work is.
Is this because of remote or just the hot job market? I am a quiet quitter because I know I can just leave, so why do more than the minimum?
BUT.
I have to say while its a nice perk for the job (typing this from South East Asia), productivity is less than what I would like. People take work for granted a bit more and are a little more "entitled" to everything now.
And I get it. It's really nice to be able to work around your job instead of the reverse.
I think some people (like me) are better in-person managers than remote managers. And that's why the quality of remote work is spotty or so many managers want people back in house.
Let's not also forget that all the things that were cherish and use were mostly built by teams of people working together on some site. Whether it's the buildings, the internet infrastructure, the food you eat, the services your subscribe to, the software you're using right now, the computer or phone you're typing from -- all of it is built and delivered by groups of people that see each other every day in offices.
Please, don't get it twisted that just because you can code, provide customer support or write remotely -- that the other 95% of people can.
Remote work is an untested thing and really, only works for a tiny set of knowledge businesses.
So, while I love that our team works remote -- I would say most people will have to get off their a*ses and get back to the office.