Mandates by large companies could see employees disciplined or dismissed if not in compliance
Similar to mandates expressed by Amazon leadership recently, Meta will soon begin strict implementation of its hybrid work setup that requires workers to report to the office three times a week.
Starting Sept. 5, every worker assigned an office is expected to work from that office or otherwise participate in-person work for the majority of the work week, according to the company formerly known as Facebook.
This will be monitored by managers, and violators may be penalized.
"Managers will review badge and Status Tool information on a monthly basis and follow up with those who didn't meet the requirement, subject to local law and works council requirements," Lori Goler, Meta's head of human resources, wrote in a post to Workplace, the company's internal forum, earlier this month, according to an Insider report.
"As with other company policies, repeated violations may result in disciplinary action, up to and including a performance rating drop and, ultimately, termination if not addressed."
Just last week, Amazon’s CEO said he is cracking down on employees who aren’t prepared to come into the office at least three days a week, following changes to the company’s remote work policy.
Google, in June, said it will begin including their employees' attendance in performance reviews as part of a string of measures to ensure compliance with the tech giant's hybrid work policy.
Several employers – including Zoom, Disney and Starbucks – have also called on employees to report to the workplace more often.
Benefits of in-person work
While Meta believes “distributed work will continue to be important in the future,” its current focus is on improving the working experience for those who report to the office, one spokesperson said, according to the Insider report.
"In the near-term, our in-person focus is designed to support a strong, valuable experience for our people who have chosen to work from the office, and we're being thoughtful and intentional about where we invest in remote work," he added.
Meta first informed employees of its RTO efforts in June, saying that beginning after the Labor Day holiday, people who were hired to work in an office should return for at least part of the week.
But months before that, Mark Zuckerberg encouraged his employees to collaborate in person more often, claiming that it has benefits over remote work.
According to the Meta CEO, engineers who joined the company in person and then transferred to remote or remained in-person performed better than those who joined remotely.
"This requires further study, but our hypothesis is that it is still easier to build trust in person and that those relationships help us work more effectively," he said.
As more organizations implement return-to-office mandates, one report urged employers to invest in unified and accurate workplace data to ensure success. Earlier, Jeanne Meister, executive VP Executive Networks, said that employers “need to make coming to the office more purposeful and 'commute-worthy.'"
