Meta updates RTO policy with stricter mandate, saying workers may lose their jobs if they don’t show up 3 days a week

Mark Zuckerberg is focusing more and more of Meta’s efforts on commercializing AI.Charles Platiau/Reuters

Meta is committing to its return-to-office mandate, telling employees that they will be monitored by management to make sure they comply and that they may lose their jobs if they don’t.

The company, formerly known as Facebook, on Thursday afternoon updated employees on its guidance for an RTO policy announced in June. Lori Goler, Meta’s head of human resources, wrote in a post to Workplace, the company’s internal forum, that all employees “assigned to an office” would be required to work from that office or otherwise participate in in-person work at least three days a week. Employees already approved for fully remote work do not have to comply with the mandate.

“Accountability will be central to making this fair and effective,” Goler wrote.

Managers at Meta will be responsible for following up with workers on a monthly basis, making sure they are complying with the policy. Workers may be disciplined or even lose their jobs if they repeatedly fail to comply.

“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,” Goler wrote. “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.”

“We believe that distributed work will continue to be important in the future, particularly as our technology improves,” a spokesman for Meta said.

“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.

The internal announcement came after CEO Mark Zuckerberg began to publicly and internally praise the benefits of in-office work. In a March memo announcing a layoff of 10,000 employees, he wrote that a company analysis found that “engineers earlier in their career perform better on average when they work in-person with teammates at least three days a week.” The details of the analysis were not shared.

Under the new policy, most new employees, save for those hired for rare fully remote roles, will be required to work in the office. After 18 months, and with positive performance reviews, workers can apply to be fully remote. Being fully remote means Meta will not maintain desk space for such workers, who should not come to an office “more than 4 days every 2 months,” Goler’s memo said,

While Meta still allows some remote work, the overall shift away from it is a major departure from the pro-remote-work stance it adopted early on in the pandemic. In an interview discussing Meta’s long-term strategy on “The Tim Ferriss Show” in March 2022, Zuckerberg said on the podcast that he hoped to have “50% or more of the company” working “distributed and working remotely” by the end of the decade. And Meta’s metaverse was supposed to further usher in an era of remote-work options.

From: Lori GolerDistributed work updatesTL;DR:• We shared in June that beginning September 5, people assigned to an office will need to spend at least 3 days per week in person to foster healthy relationships and strong collaboration.• Managers will hold their teams accountable to the In-Person Time Policy on a monthly basis. You won’t need to make up in-person time when you’re off work (e.g., paid time off, sick time, unforeseen circumstances like a family emergency) or when you take Global or Domestic Travel Days.• Unless required for work reasons, remote workers should limit office visits to no more than 4 days every 2 months to help teams build predictable schedules and more consistent collaboration practices.Everyone must keep the Status Tool updated with their correct work location.As we shared in June, beginning September 5, people assigned to an office need to spend at least 3 days per week working in person to foster healthy relationships and strong collaboration. Consistency is key for teams to optimize how they work together, so we’re also building more structure and clear guidelines around remote workers visiting the office. We’re providing an overview of how we’ll hold office workers accountable for the in-person time requirement, guidance and changes for remote workers, our approach to location strategy, and reminders about the office experience. More details and FAQs can be found on the People Portal.IN-PERSON TIME• On September 5, the In-Person Time Policy will take effect. People assigned to an office are required to be in the office, or engaging in other in-person activities like meeting with clients, at least 3 days per week. Some orgs will set a schedule of preferred in-office days, so please prioritize coming in then to make collaboration easier.• Accountability will be central to making this fair and effective. 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. 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.• We know there will be weeks when you can’t work in person for 3 days, like if you take PTO or sick days, have jury duty, or when there are company holidays – you won’t need to make up in-person time for these reasons. Unforeseen circumstances, such as family emergencies or dangerous commute conditions, will also count. You can continue to use Global and Domestic Travel Days, but only 20 combined Global or Domestic Travel Days would count towards your in-person time for the year. We trust everyone to use good judgment and act in the spirit of the policy, and will address outliers as needed. REMOTE WORKOffice visits:

• Remote work is for people who are committed to working from home, and isn’t intended for those who want to spend regular time in the office. To help teams build predictable collaboration practices, we’re asking remote workers not to visit the office more than 4 days every 2 months- unless there’s a clear business reason (team onsite, required in- person meetings) or to attend Meta-sponsored events like Company All Hands, Metamate Meetups, or Hackathons.• Managers will review this monthly, subject to local law and works council requirements, and remote workers who consistently exceed the threshold will be required to transfer to an office and meet the minimum 3 days/week in-person requirement.Remote applications:• We’re moving to a monthly review cycle for remote work applications by org leaders so they can fully assess and understand the impact of these requests on their organizations and sites as they implement their org-specific location strategy. Cross-border remote requests are still on hold until Q4.• Applications submitted from today through the end of September will be reviewed by the end of October, and monthly after that. Remote applications submitted before August 17 will move forward pending manager approval.STATUS TOOL• Everyone – both office and remote workers – must keep the Status Tool updated with your work location, ideally 2 weeks in advance. This makes it easier to coordinate time with your team, lets Calendar manage your meeting rooms, helps Facilities plan effectively, allows Meta to withhold your taxes accurately, and ensures your in-person time is reflected correctly in monthly reports to your manager.• To make this easier, you can set your status in advance. Beginning September 5, you’ll be able to regularly review your own data in the tool to confirm you’re meeting the in-person requirements.LOCATION STRATEGY• We’re focusing on team co-location to maximize the value of in-person time. Org leaders continue to formalize location strategies and will share more in the coming weeks. Leaders can include global office locations and remote work (internal only) as part of their strategy.Org location strategy will be used to guide future hiring and transfer decisions. You won’t be asked to move or transfer if you work from somewhere that’s not part of your org’s new location strategy, including remote.• Locations for all external roles will be updated by mid-September. As we shared in June, we’ll limit external remote hiring to rare, approved candidate exceptions. While we work to make internal-only remote roles visible, please reach out to the hiring manager to confirm if remote is an option.

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