His point was that they exchanged hiring people who are not like that because of the good deal they got to people who are like that because the deal they got is not as good comparatively.
And my point is, the people who are making those decisions are just bubbling it down from the top, and they don't care if it's a good decision or not, just that they're going to look good for following orders.
If everyone's doing nothing, and their boss is happy, then they're happy, too, because maybe they'll get promoted and a better raise and a better bonus.
If everyone's getting a lot done, and their boss isn't happy, then they're not happy either, because they probably won't get the raise and the bonus and the promotion that they wanted.
They don't care about the business. At all.
Obviously some people do. But that's not the norm.
> and I see firsthand the way these people just waste time walking around with a coffee-cup shooting the breeze, or sitting in half-day meetings.
This point is a bit naive or misguided. Slackers are to be found in a fully remote setup as well. Also, hustlers like Soham Parekh or North Koreans impersonators are only possible in a fully remote setup.
I don't think anyone should be terribly surprised that you work with a lot of people that would rather shoot the breeze than get things done.