My anecdotal experience regarding pay has been the opposite, at least here in Seattle. The employers who require people to come in a few days a week are all big corps who pay quite well.
I wonder if the relative pay depends on the cost of living. If you're in a small town with limited local opportunities then you can get a higher salary by searching for remote work. But if you're in a high cost of living city then the employers who require you to be there have to pay enough to make it worthwhile.
Having just battled the job market, many offers for remote work take your CoL into account; they aren’t paying Seattle salaries to people who live in MN.
I went from a fully remote role to a hybrid role when I switched. I was successfully able to negotiate upwards because if they are going to require me to commute, then I will need more cash to cover that expense. It was the easiest negotiation I have ever done.
(So now I commute into a mostly empty office to join the same webexes, but if that’s how they want to spend their money, that’s their business. My workday still ends at the same time)
There's also the smaller companies that maybe can't afford to pay what a big corp can, but they can offer WFH or other schedule flexiblity to stay competitive.
I wonder if the relative pay depends on the cost of living. If you're in a small town with limited local opportunities then you can get a higher salary by searching for remote work. But if you're in a high cost of living city then the employers who require you to be there have to pay enough to make it worthwhile.