Microsoft's new return to office plan: Three-day office attendance or employees can…

Microsoft

is set to require employees to work from the office at least three days per week starting January 2025. The new policy will affect employees living within 50 miles of Microsoft's Redmond headquarters, where most of the company's 228,000 global workforce is based. Some teams may face stricter requirements of four or five days in-person, depending on executive decisions, Business Insider reports.The company plans to announce the changes in September, giving workers several months to adapt to the new expectations. While Microsoft will allow employees to apply for exceptions, the approval process and criteria remain unclear.This marks a sharp shift from Microsoft's pandemic-era flexibility, which allowed most workers to spend up to half their time working remotely without manager approval. The Verge notes that many employees had been working from home even more frequently under the relaxed interpretation of company policy.

Microsoft joins Big Tech's office comeback wave

The move puts Microsoft in line with other tech giants tightening their remote work policies. Amazon now demands five full days in the office, while Google and Meta require three-day attendance. The Verge reports the timing comes as employee morale sits at historic lows following roughly 15,000 layoffs this year, despite Microsoft posting $27 billion in quarterly profits.Industry observers and Microsoft employees are viewing the policy as a form of "stealth layoff," a way to encourage departures without formal terminations, according to sources cited by Business Insider. Workers unwilling to comply with the new attendance rules may choose to leave rather than fight the requirements.The situation creates an awkward contradiction for Microsoft, which markets software enabling remote collaboration and previously promoted hybrid work as beneficial for productivity and employee retention.Practical challenges loom large, with sources reporting that Microsoft's offices already struggle with limited space, power shortages, and insufficient meeting rooms despite a $5 billion campus expansion effort.