Come to the office... any office!

[dsc]

Good employers will use the data to identify gaps (eg: how two employees are delivering the same output while spending significantly different time on these tasks) and continuously improve while bad employers will use it to manage by spreadsheet.

I wouldn't agree with this as people are different, some work faster, some slower, have different ways of achieving the same goal etc. it's not AI which you can train to do the same tulip in a specific manner.

There's a very simple way to manage if you don't want people to slack, give them tasks, deadlines (probably one of the most important elements as without that people easily loose motivation) and know what people are working on, what stoppers they have and how long things take in reality. It really isn't rocket science, but of course bums on seats are easier.

Also you need to have some level of trust towards your employees, otherwise it just becomes a slave like approach to work.

[JustKeepSwimming]

If that's the case, that they don't care from which office you work as long as you're in an office and not at home, the only reason is managers not trusting employees/contractors and thinking folks are skiving at home.

Recent example is lloyds banking group, now wanting everyone in the office at least 2 days a week and since employees (at least the ones I know based in Scotland) were starting to kick up a fuss, I've heard now LBG are opening up local offices and technology hubs in various places so if say you are based in Glasgow, you'll have an office there and won't have to travel to Edinburgh. What's the real benefit of this? None, but managers want to see bums on seats.

There are some benefits.

Social element of work is important to companies, it helps with retention. Workers will stay longer at company when they like their colleagues. I've known many great workers who have stayed far longer than they should've because they enjoyed the place and "grass isn't always greener".

Equally there are a sizeable amount of people where being forced into an office and to socialise is in their personal interest even if they dont appreciate it.

There also some people who don't have suitable work environment at home, especially youngsters house sharing. Living and working in a bedroom isn't great. So forcing everyone to do min 2 days to justify the expense of a hub for those who can't work well at home is IMO justifiable.

[WTFH]

... the only reason is managers not trusting employees/contractors and thinking folks are skiving at home...

There are multiple other valid reasons, perhaps a 3 slide powerpoint would explain them - although they are mentioned in other posts in the thread.