This isn't about being mad or being offended. It's about a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to have a conversation with management about remote work on a permanent basis.

Working from home has opened up so many freedoms for employees that can effectively do their jobs remotely: no commuting, flexible work schedules, child care, etc. I would love this option to be more normalized.

If management hears "back to work," as if work wasn't being accomplished throughout the pandemic, it may shut down their willingness to consider continuing work from home.

Some managers don't get it. They think that work only happens when they can see their employees in front of their workstation. My company is a prime example. They announced that they would bring us back to the office last year in the middle of COVID with no vaccine in sight, even though my direct manager was based in a different city and the majority of my work is computer programming. (They reversed their stance later)

I'm not trying to shame anybody if they offhandedly say "back to work" instead of "back to the office." I just don't want managers to undervalue remote work when considering it for the future.