In August, it was reported that Microsoft was planning to mandate its staff again to the workplace “at the least” three days every week as quickly as January 2026. (Workers presently can work remotely “half” of the workweek.)
Now, in keeping with an inner e mail despatched to Microsoft employees on Tuesday, the corporate has finalized its plans and is issuing a return-to-office (RTO) mandate in three phases, starting on the finish of February 2026, in keeping with Enterprise Insider.
“Within the AI period, we’re shifting sooner than ever, constructing world-class know-how that modifications how folks stay and work, and the way organizations in all places function,” reads the e-mail from Microsoft HR chief Amy Coleman. “In case you mirror on our historical past, essentially the most significant breakthroughs occur after we construct on one another’s concepts collectively, in actual time.”
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As of June 30, Microsoft employed 228,000 staff, with 125,000 positioned within the U.S.
In response to the e-mail, the primary part will concentrate on staff who stay within the Puget Sound, Washington space, and can start round February 23. “In case you stay inside 50 miles of a Microsoft workplace, you may be anticipated to work onsite three days every week beginning [at the end of February],” the e-mail reads.
A common view of the Microsoft Zizhu Campus in Minghang, Shanghai, China, on June 30, 2025. Worldwide staff will be taught extra about their RTO in 2026. Ying Tang/NurPhoto by way of Getty Photographs
The RTO mandate will then increase to different places of work within the U.S. and, finally, internationally, for which planning will start in 2026, in keeping with the e-mail.
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The memo stated that the remainder of the employees will hear from their “EVP or organizational management in the present day with particular steerage,” the e-mail reads. “In case you are exterior of the Puget Sound space, you do not want to take any motion at the moment except your EVP communicates in any other case.”
“We have checked out how our groups work greatest, and the info is evident: when folks work collectively in individual extra typically, they thrive—they’re extra energized, empowered, they usually ship stronger outcomes,” Coleman wrote.
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In August, it was reported that Microsoft was planning to mandate its staff again to the workplace “at the least” three days every week as quickly as January 2026. (Workers presently can work remotely “half” of the workweek.)
Now, in keeping with an inner e mail despatched to Microsoft employees on Tuesday, the corporate has finalized its plans and is issuing a return-to-office (RTO) mandate in three phases, starting on the finish of February 2026, in keeping with Enterprise Insider.
“Within the AI period, we’re shifting sooner than ever, constructing world-class know-how that modifications how folks stay and work, and the way organizations in all places function,” reads the e-mail from Microsoft HR chief Amy Coleman. “In case you mirror on our historical past, essentially the most significant breakthroughs occur after we construct on one another’s concepts collectively, in actual time.”
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