Assuming selfish motivation: are they having trouble attracting talent? Maybe they see hiring trends turning around.
Anecdote: My girlfriend, a recruiter, says she's seen more recruiters being hired.
"Our employees are not children"
I wish somebody would tell that to the Jasshole
Good. Unless you're creating a physical product, there is no need for everyone to be physically in the same space.
The sooner we stop treating founders and CEOs like infallible job creators and start pushing back on all the RTO, the better.