[anon84873628]

To answer the general philosophical question, I think it is simply because we don't like hypocrisy. Or to put it more elaborately, the statements are pointless if they don't actually require making tradeoffs or taking the harder path when necessary.

Why am I required to return to office but everyone in my management chain gets to work remote? Are the benefits of in-person collaboration not relevant to them too?

If a policy requires carve outs and exemptions, those should be documented ahead of time with the rational explanation.

Edit: note my example about remote work was totally hypothetical; I don't work at Amazon.