Employees assigned to an office will be required to come in three days a week beginning in September, as the company transitions to a more organized hybrid schedule.
Workers who now work remotely would not be affected by the change, Meta said in a statement Thursday. The three-day obligation only applies to employees who are already in the workplace on some days. It will go into effect on September 5.
“We’re confident people can make a meaningful impact both at work and at home,” stated a Meta representative.
The shift is intended to create “the collaboration, relationships, and culture necessary for employees to do their best work,” according to a spokeswoman.
According to a message given to staff regarding the new policy, Meta employees currently spend roughly 2.2 days each week in the office. Approximately 75% of the company’s employees works in-house.
“We’ve always aimed to have a flexible and hard-working culture, and as we design for the future, we’ll continue to be thoughtful about how we manage our work, our time, and our relationships,” read the message, which The Wall Street Journal obtained.
The Information first reported the development on Thursday.
In March, the software business said that it would reduce 10,000 jobs over several months in order to be more efficient in a challenging environment. Meta’s Facebook, WhatsApp, Messenger, Instagram, and Reality Labs businesses were among those affected by the layoffs, which were scheduled to end in May.
CEO Mark Zuckerberg announced at the time that the business would terminate several initiatives and slash hiring rates as part of the “year of efficiency.”
Other tech giants, such as Alphabet’s Google, Apple, and Microsoft, have also warned employees that it’s time to return for good, or at least for part of the week.
Workers in various businesses say they are hesitant to give up the flexibility of the past few years, when the Covid-19 pandemic drove many individuals to work from home, citing child care costs, commute costs, and other concerns such as relocation to less expensive places.
According to an ADP Research Institute survey from 2022, two-thirds of the workforce claimed they would look for a new job if forced to return to the workplace full-time. According to the Pew Research Center, 35% of individuals who quit their employment in 2021 said they wanted to move to a different place.
