They say, you say, and the WFH doom cycle repeats.

An equally compelling reason for the drop (if in fact true) is alluded to in your own article. Most companies aren't very good at it.

And this was especially true in the early days of COVID, when everyone was caught flat-footed trying to figure out the basics, like how Zoom meetings worked.

You also mentioned Apple, but I'm not entirely sure they're a shining example of the benefits of serendipity since from many accounts teams are actually forbidden from discussing the secret project they're currently working on.