Microsoft is rolling out a new return-to-office policy that will see first Redmond, then US, and then global staff getting back on-prem at least three days a week.
“How we work has forever changed,” Microsoft’s Chief People Officer Amy Coleman told staff in a blog post. And that change will start in Redmond by the end of February. If you work within a 50-mile radius of the office, Microsoft has already emailed you if it expects your attendance, she said.
The changes will spread across the rest of America and then internationally on an unspecified timescale. We’ve asked for clarification and will update this article if it comes in.
Coleman’s note looked to get ahead of possible criticisms that mandatory RTO policies serve as a backdoor way to reduce headcount, as employees who’d moved far away from offices to take advantage of companies’ remote work policies may find it difficult or unpalatable to uproot again.
“Importantly, this update is not about reducing headcount,” she wrote. “It’s about working together in a way that enables us to meet our customers’ needs.”
If Microsofties want an exemption from the new rules, they must file a request by September 19, Coleman said. She told staff to ask their EVPs or “organizational leadership” how this would work in practice and what conditions they would require.
Seattle-area workers are still getting a good deal compared to the peons at Amazon. They’ve been under a five-day office regime since this year and some staff are peeved at the change.
Just three years ago, Microsoft was touting research about how working from home was just fine. Recent evidence also shows RTO mandates can discourage staff. But that was then and this is now, and most of the big tech firms are now requiring a three-office-day week at least.
Intel’s already on a three-day in policy, rising to four as the struggling chip biz tries to correct decades of failures. IBM is cracking the whip on not only hours in, but also forcing staff to move location to be closer to the office for three-days of office work. Dell, Google, Meta, and others are also enforcing the three-office-day week.
Irony of ironies, Zoom has also enforced a similar 50-mile commuting mandate to Microsoft. Talk about not eating your own dogfood! ®
