IIRC the problem with Apple is they universally made it so all come in, with no consideration to needs of the employee and with respect to the needs of the company. It was the one size fits all that caused the backlash.
But to your other points, your cushy office position. Some jobs require one to be there as part of the job itself (bagging groceries you mentioned), carpentry, ski instructors, etc. But not all.
I will use my son’s school as example as it seem very much related to work in this context.
Background: Our school went fully remote for Q1 (first quarter) this year, then for Q2 and Q3 had the option of either fully remote or 2 days a week in person, 3 days remote (called hybrid). For the last quarter there is an option of full time, hybrid or fully remote.
On a parents group there was a very vocal group pushing for full time attendance for all since Q1. It seems like their little extrovert crumb cruncher was having such a hard time not only with remote for themselves but also wanted to require other students be in so their extrovert kid can have people to interact with. So when I see the OP’s opinion I tend to place it in that category.
Our son has just returned to 2 days a week hybrid. He not only liked remote, but excelled at it, making much higher grades than in person (his grades slipped a bit this last quarter as he became hybrid - but he has to transition back next year to full time it seems). He also likes that remote cuts out all the non-essential (BS) time that is usually spend when coming into school and gives him real down time during the class day which really helps him. His day is also about 1h45m-2h30m shorter per day due to bussing and his last period is sometimes optional study hall/extra help which is skippable. This makes him feel better about school and his grades and makes him perform better so I can understand some workers concerns who like to excel and what they do and want the option to do it the best way they can.