MUMBAI— Microsoft is preparing to scale back remote work flexibility, with plans to require employees to spend at least three days a week in the office, according to multiple reports. The changes could take effect as early as January at the company’s Redmond, Washington, headquarters.
A company spokesperson confirmed that updates to Microsoft’s flexible work policy are under consideration, but stressed that no final decisions have been made. The tech giant is expected to formally announce its updated policy by September.
Since 2020, Microsoft has allowed employees to work remotely up to 50 percent of the time without manager approval, one of the more flexible approaches among large U.S. tech companies. But the new plan would bring it closer in line with rivals like Meta and Google, both of which already require staff to be in the office at least three days a week. Some Microsoft divisions, including its Corporate, External and Legal Affairs (CELA) team, are already following stricter in-office schedules.
Other major tech firms have moved even further. Amazon now enforces a five-day in-office mandate, while AT&T rolled out similar requirements last year.
Microsoft executives had previously signaled that flexibility would remain, unless productivity was clearly declining. “We would only reconsider if we saw a clear decline in productivity,” Scott Guthrie, head of the company’s cloud and AI unit, told employees last September.
The company has faced other recent challenges, including layoffs affecting about 9,000 employees — roughly 4 percent of its workforce — and controversy in India over cutting off access to its services for Nayara Energy, a Russia-linked oil company, before later restoring them. (Source: IANS)
