I don't know about Apple, but I do have a ton of experience consulting for multiple F500's. Many at these companies who want people to come back to work are just middle managers who find it harder to justify their jobs since remote work has become so prevalent. They simply can't grasp how work can get done without them telling people what to do. And of course the easiest way to do that without requiring much thought is to see their underlings in person.
I do think this mirrors my office’s original logic for returning but they almost immediately became more flexible.
At one point, returning to the office wasn’t mandatory but “good for our promotions etc”.
When I’m in office few if any people actually give me marching orders… and when they do, I push back, correct them, and continue what I was doing. (We aren’t great at project management and my position luckily allows for this)
