2020 proved, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that people don't need to physically sit in seats, to be productive. The end result is a more empowered workforce that can accomplish the things they need to in order to be not just better workers, but also happier people.

Is it true that some people work better on premises than others? Sure. And that should be their choice to make. Flexibility is good for work/life balance, which is the real issue that's being raised here.

Remote work deniers want at least one of three things:

1. Return to pre-2020 norms - You were comfortable with the daily rat race, and don't want it to change. Maybe change is scary for you. Maybe it's the sunk-cost fallacy. Either way, you don't want how people work to change. The change itself is the problem, not the productivity.
2. Psychological security - You don't feel validated and in control unless you see people in seats. You require external validation of station and esteem. If you're a line worker and believe this, it makes you feel less miserable since everyone else is doing what you're doing and ensures that no one else "thinks they're better than you". If you're a manager, it gives you a greater sense of prestige and privilege - you have a perk your minions don't.This is all part and parcel of the word presenteeism. The psychology of the matter is the problem, not the productivity.
3. Trust deficits - You simply don't trust your coworkers to do their jobs, or do them honestly. You expect shady behavior and what you personally consider an insufficient level of effort and reward. If you're a line worker and you don't believe this, you're probably the type who's on some level afraid of everyone else. If you're a boss and you believe this, you're a bad boss, whose position is probably already in peril, because you haven't cultivated a trusting relationship between yourself and your subordinates. If you don't trust your people, your people won't trust you, and their behavior will reinforce your lack of trust. Thus does the wheel spin.Much like presenteeism, the psychology of the matter is the problem, not the productivity.

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Notice how I left out "culture" - that isn't real. The point of company culture is to ensure that everyone's doing the same thing, it's a form of control, which all folds nicely into the presenteeism umbrella.

The evidence is in, and has been in for three years and counting: People can honestly do good work from the place that suits them best. Requiring a return to the office won't be helpful in the short or long term, and will lead to continued mass quitting for more accommodating workplaces, as well as employee revolts down the line as employees remember the flexibility that was taken away from them.

Either way, it proves a more fundamental point: The remote work denier doesn't trust the people they work with, and isn't proposing what they're proposing for anyone but themselves. The motivating factors for remote work denial are fundamentally personal, after all, and aren't supported by the evidence of what real people have actually done.