@gd - you are 100% right - it is because of the MA governor and city of Boston mayor. The city council made a big deal about the loss of tax revenue and small businesses suffering from not enough foot traffic. Guess what - they are still not getting my money. F them! They can pretend that they care about the climate so much and then require 6000 associates to drive in. It's a big F U to the environment.
It's a twisted psychological experiment. It's like some kind of abusive relationship where people are either are afraid to leave or they are used to suffering and are probably going to tough it out waiting for the severance. It's worth it the longer you have been there, but every day is freaking painful. The young people will just find something remote if they are smart before they waste too much time here. VPs are just keeping their mouths shut because they either have remote exceptions themselves or they are waiting it out for a couple of years. You know they don't believe in the RTO propaganda, but they have to spew the garbage when they know that it makes no sense to come into the office when none of the team is colocated. Watch them bring back the musical chair/site strategy/relocation games after 1/1 after the first wave of attrition hits.