[proc0]

> If the employee is doing all that's expected of them,

It's all about those expectations. It seems having a trained skillset is never enough. It's not about practicing what you are an expert in, but rather increasing business value at any costs, even if it means doing a lot more than what you were trained to do. These expectations are typically more business skills, management skills, and even marketing skills. This is why going to the office is seen as a must for many "leaders" of companies.

You're not just a programmer that contributes code, you are also a business person who ones part of the company, a manager who has to lead teams of people, and a marketing person that needs to think what the end user wants and how to deliver it. When there are so many cross-disciplinary expectations (which are rarely stated clearly), it's no surprise they want people in one place in order to have them coordinate through this complex web of roles.