Maybe you have 2 A students (metaphors for workers) and 4 C students remote. The A students are effective regardless of attendance. But the C students actually become B students when attendance is forced.

You might argue C students should be replaced but you might still end up with C students a year later because hiring is hard.

Given this dynamic it’s obvious why one would be motivated to require attendance.

This is just a thought experiment but I think it shows how blame could be pointed at many different places. For example why couldn’t attendance be required only for lower performers? Etc.