Another factor with the vibes being off (at least in the US): mass outsourcing of jobs thanks to remote work. You used to have to be a multinational company with global entities and offices. Now you can be a 10-person startup with half your people outside the country.

When the world went remote many folks were happy with the better work-life balance. But it means that we compete in a ruthless global labor market.

That's why companies rejecting remote work is good for the American worker in some ways.

"remote" can just mean "far enough from the financial district that I can afford a little space" as it turns out. You're not WRONG but just being in the same time zone as your coworkers gets you 90% of the in person benefits and, realistically, it's too hard to work with a team that is on a vastly different tz.

Local can still be better than global while still allowing people to work from home and convene in meat space as needed

> companies rejecting remote work is good for the American worker

It's good for American real estate owners, who end up with more money as a result of this, both from offices and from staff who have to live in nearby high COL areas.

Small scale offshore outsourcing existed way before the pandemic and the big shift to remote. They used to call it software factories.

> Now you can be a 10-person startup with half your people outside the country.

You can be even if a multinational company moves their employees back to the office.

If you chop off your limbs, not everyone can compete at that game, but why play it in the first place?