This is definitely part of the problem, shitty managers usually go with dumb blanket policies as fixes, like the return to work policy, but also they don't know their people well enough to know who works well from home and who doesn't, and they fail at management enough that they don't even understand the metrics that would give them those answers.
However outside of that it's two other things, bosses want to "see their slaves in the fields" so it's also a psychological issue. Also the issue is the wealthy and corporations freaking out over their falling property investments thanks to their empty buildings.
Imagine how angry Carlin would be if he were still around, especially with Right Wingers trying to claim him as one of their own and the AI/not really AI likeness theft shit.