Yeah, the return to office part is a bit different from the situation of using a computer. Office space usage has to do more with companies looking at the finances, and asking why they're paying a lot of money for corporate real estate that isn't being used. Companies sometimes are bound by very long leases, legal agreements between a government and a company in exchange for tax breaks, and so on, and they would want to make sure those buildings are being used to the fullest extent possible. They have to maintain the buildings whether or not people use them, so that's a loss center. I'm certainly no expert in corporate real estate, so there may be a lot more tied into that.

At least from an IT perspective, it's easier to support someone in person if they have a hardware problem. Especially with the way modern premium laptops like Macs are built, where simplicity in design clashes with troubleshooting, and where tool requirements reach into the "probably not available at home" set. From an information security perspective, one can be more sure that information isn't being looked at by others when they're working at a secured office versus, say, a coffee shop across town.

Companies have their reasons at least. Some are dumb. Some are valid. Mandating work at an office and not providing a fixed desk to go to, pretty dumb in my opinion.