In a bold move, Meta, the parent company of Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp, has firmly reasserted its stance on employees returning to the office. The company’s Head of People, Lori Goler, issued a stern warning, stating that failure to comply with the revised attendance policy could result in termination.
In early June, Meta unveiled its plan, requiring employees not designated as remote workers to return to the office for a minimum of three days a week, starting in early September. This announcement followed a series of significant layoffs at the company. CEO Mark Zuckerberg, during this tumultuous time, passionately extolled the virtues of in-person work.
“Engineers earlier in their career perform better on average when they work in-person with teammates at least three days a week,” Zuckerberg declared in a statement posted on his Facebook page and Meta’s news blog back in March.
Recently, Lori Goler revealed more comprehensive details about this return-to-office policy in an internal post on Meta’s Workplace platform. She emphasized, “Beginning September 5, people assigned to an office need to spend at least three days per week working in person to foster healthy relationships and strong collaboration.”
However, Goler clarified that activities such as client meetings would count towards an employee’s “in-person working” quota. Additionally, if employees take personal time off, sick days, or encounter travel or family emergencies, they will not be expected to make up for these missed days through additional in-office attendance.
Goler stressed that accountability would be pivotal to ensure the fairness and effectiveness of this policy. Going forward, managers will be responsible for reviewing employee attendance records on a monthly basis and addressing non-compliance, in line with local legal requirements. Goler cautioned, “As with other company policies, repeated violations may result in disciplinary action, up to and including a drop in Performance@ rating and, ultimately, termination if not addressed.”
Under the new policy, employees hired specifically for remote work are asked not to attend the office for more than four days a month unless there is a “clear business reason” for their presence.
Meta joins the ranks of Big Tech companies revising their post-pandemic remote work strategies. Notably, Zoom and Amazon recently announced that they would require employees to return to the office for two and three days a week, respectively. Earlier this year, Google faced criticism for mandating that most employees work from the office for three days a week and tying attendance to performance reviews.
Research indicates that return-to-office mandates are not popular among employees. Some studies even suggest that they may not significantly address the productivity issues organizations attribute to remote work policies. While 69% of business leaders express concerns about collaboration and engagement, and 54% of human resources leaders believe that employees feel less connected to their organizations than before the pandemic, research and advisory firm Gartner found that employees are 1.6 times more likely to perform better when their teams are dispersed across different locations and time zones. Furthermore, among employees granted “radical flexibility,” 53% reported a high degree of connectedness, compared to just 18% of those with limited flexibility.
Meta’s stringent return-to-office policy reflects a broader trend among Big Tech companies. While the move has sparked controversy, it remains to be seen how this shift will impact employee productivity and collaboration. As the workplace continues to evolve, striking a balance between remote work flexibility and in-person interaction will be crucial for companies like Meta in maintaining a motivated and connected workforce.