22 Companies That Are Demanding Workers Return to the Office

Back to the Office You Go

For everyone tapping away at their keyboard while laying back at the beach, we’ve got bad news: some workplaces are determined to get your rear back in an uncomfortable office chair under bad fluorescent lighting. A whopping 8 in 10 companies will track office attendance in 2024, whether or not they’re demanding a full work week in the office. If you work for one of these places and haven’t gotten the call to head back to the office yet, know that it’s coming — and it might be time to dust off your resume.

Why Are Companies Insisting Employees Return to the Office Now?

Working from home may have become a thing because of the COVID-19 pandemic and subsequent lockdowns, but its 2024 and return-to-office (RTO) mandates are being issued hard and fast. For some companies, this shift has triggered talent loss, early retirements, and “quiet quitting,” along with “coffee badging” by those forced to attend in person.

While many CEOs claim in-person work boosts productivity and supports younger employees, federal studies show otherwise. A 2024 survey of 4,400 U.S. employees by Great Place to Work found that those required to work on-site were 14 times more likely to quiet-quit than those given a choice between in-office, hybrid, and remote work.

Below, we highlight 22 companies across various industries that have made headlines with their RTO policies, often sparking debate on the future of work.

Dell

While many companies gave their employees ample notice for RTO, Dell’s sales team was given just two workdays. On Sept. 26, 2024, they were informed they’d be required to work fully in person, five days a week, starting Oct. 1. This was a stark shift from February 2023, when employees were told they could choose between hybrid or remote work and Michael Dell’s comment in 2022 stating: “At Dell, we found no meaningful differences for team members working remotely or office-based even before the pandemic forced everyone home.”

Amazon

It was just three days in the office, but CEO Andy Jassy has said that everyone needs to get back to the office all five days. “Before the pandemic, it was not a given that folks could work remotely two days a week, and that will also be true moving forward — our expectation is that people will be in the office outside of extenuating circumstances,” Jassy said. They do have until Jan. 2 to get back on the schedule, though.

Zoom

Ironically, Zoom, a company central to the rise of remote work, implemented its own return-to-office policy in 2023. Employees living within 50 miles of an office are required to return two days a week. In a staff all-hands meeting, CEO Eric Yuan explained that remote work had made employees too “friendly,” hindering productive debates. “We cannot have a great conversation or debate with each other because everyone tends to be very friendly when you join a Zoom call,” Yuan stated, emphasizing the need for in-person collaboration.

Salesforce

In 2022, CEO Marc Benioff famously stated that “office mandates are never going to work.” However, by October 2024, Salesforce required employees in roles like sales, workplace services, and onsite support to be in the office four to five days a week. In a company-wide Slack message, Benioff explained that newly hired remote workers were struggling with productivity and feeling isolated, missing the benefits of office culture. This shift highlights a change in Salesforce’s approach to maintaining productivity and fostering collaboration.

JP Morgan Chase

The banking company was at the forefront of the five-day schedule post-pandemic, with CEO Jamie Dimon stating that remote work gets in the way of “spontaneous idea generation” and teams can’t be managed effectively, according to Fortune.

UPS

While it’s hard to make a case for UPS when there are so many places dropping off packages, the delivery brand demanded workers come back five days a week — on the same day the company laid off 12,000 people. We’re assuming “and you’ll be fired, too” was implicit.

IBM

While the company isn’t cracking down on a five-day a week schedule yet, IBM is demanding managers report to an office or client location at least three days a week or risk losing their jobs. And if you moved during the pandemic? Move to a location near an office, STAT. IBM also said it would cut an unspecified number of jobs this year, so you may want to find out if you’re on the chopping block before relocating.

Boeing

While the aviation company clearly has bigger things to worry about, Boeing is still pushing for five-day in-office return.

Walmart

In addition to getting rid of hundreds of corporate jobs, Walmart is telling remote workers to get into the office, according to the Wall Street Journal. Worse, three tech hubs for the company are slated to close, which means workers will need to relocate if they want to keep their jobs.

Google

The site you use all the time wants their employees back at their desks three days a week. The return-to-office mandate hasn’t gone over smoothly, however. When the company pushed for a three-day week in the office last year, it dangled the carrot of letting employees sleep there – for just $99. Yay? Also, if you relocated after the pandemic to a more reasonable (read: less pricey) location, you might face a salary cut up to 25%.

Jotform

While Jotform is a pretty small operation with just 660 employees, the form-building platform still wants people back in the office five days a week. “Of course, we hope our team members can understand the reasoning behind our policies and align with our vision of continuing effective communication, collaboration, and internal talent development in person at the office,” said Elliott Sprecher, vice president of marketing in an e-mail. Um…

Goldman Sachs

Following in the footsteps of JP Morgan Chase, Goldman Sachs ordered its employees back to the office five days a week. Goldman Sachs CEO David Solomon referred to remote work as an “aberration.”

BlackRock

The multinational investment company isn’t pulling the trigger on five day weeks, but close. In a memo, COO Rob Goldstein and head of human resources Caroline Heller wrote: “Career development happens in teaching moments between team members, and it is accelerated during market-moving moments, when we step up and get into the mix. All of this requires us to be together in the office.” So, four days a week here.

Tesla

Aah, the richest man in the world wants people back in the office five days a week — or else. “Everyone at Tesla is required to spend a minimum of 40 hours in the office per week,” he said in a memo to Tesla employees. “If you don’t show up, we will assume you have resigned.”  The problem became that when people did show up at the office, they often found desks and parking spaces weren’t available.

X (Formerly Twitter)

It was once company policy that staff could work from anywhere “forever.” And then Elon Musk took over and renamed the company from Twitter to X. In Nov. 2023 he sent an interoffice memo demanding 40 hours a week spent in the office, with remote work banned unless he personally approved.

Chipotle

As if it wasn’t bad enough that the burritos have gotten smaller at this fast casual eatery, workers are now expected to be in the office four days a week. Previously, it was just three days.

Citigroup

According to Bloomberg, Citigroup told its 600 remote US workers to head back to the office full-time. The good news is that in a memo, the majority of staff can still work a hybrid schedule, with up to two days a week not in the office,

Meta

For now, Meta employees continue with their three-day-a-week in-office schedule, effective since Sept. 5 2023. However, seeing how CEO Mark Zuckerberg has emphasized in-person collaboration as more efficient for innovation, it may not be a forever work model. “It is still easier to build trust in person and that those relationships help us work more effectively,” Zuckerburg shared in a March 2023 memo. This marks a shift from his 2020 view that “good work can get done anywhere, and I’m even more optimistic that remote work at scale is possible, particularly as remote video presence and virtual reality continue to improve.”

Apple

Apple’s RTO policy started in 2022, mandating that employees come to the office at least three days per week tracked via ID badge swipes. This move sparked significant discontent among employees, leading to petitions and even some threats of resignation. Despite the pushback, CEO Tim Cook defended the policy in a memo, stating it was crucial for “preserving the in-person collaboration that is so essential to our culture.” To offer some flexibility, Apple introduced a hybrid work pilot, allowing remote work for up to four weeks per year, depending on the employee’s role.

Disney

In January 2023, Disney required employees to return to the office four days a week. CEO Bob Iger emphasized that in-person collaboration is essential for creativity: “In a creative business like ours, nothing replaces the ability to connect, observe, and create with peers, nor the opportunity to grow professionally by learning from leaders and mentors.”

Morgan Stanley

Another bank and another advocate for in-person work. CEO James Gorman famously said, “If you can go into a restaurant in New York City, you can come into the office,” as he pushed employees to return as early as February 2022. Gorman underscored the importance of office culture, and face-to-face interactions saying, “The office is where we teach, where interns learn, and how we develop people. It’s where soft cues that build successful careers are formed, not just through Zoom presentations.”

Starbucks

Since January 2023, Starbucks has required corporate employees living within commuting distance to be in the office three days a week. Interestingly, CEO Brian Niccol commutes from Newport Beach, California, to the Seattle headquarters three days a week, though he makes the journey using the company’s private jet.

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This article was originally published on Cheapism

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