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5d ago

Microsoft Sets Three-Day Office Requirement, Starting With Puget Sound in February 2026

The company cites in-person collaboration to accelerate AI efforts and details an exceptions process and role-based exemptions.

A sign is seen at the Microsoft headquarters on July 3, 2024 in Redmond, Washington.
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A pedestrian bridge leading into Microsoft’ s east campus is seen from the air on Aug. 6, 2025, in Redmond, Washington. Microsoft will require Puget Sound- area employees to work in the office three days per week next year. (Ken Lambert/The Seattle Times/TNS)
Microsoft wants its employees to be present in the office for a certain number of days.

Overview

  • The policy rolls out in three phases: Puget Sound at the end of February 2026 for employees living within 50 miles, then other U.S. offices, followed by international locations.
  • Employees in the initial cohort can request an exception by Friday, September 19, 2025, with criteria including having no teammates, stakeholders, or clients at the assigned office or an unusually long or complex commute.
  • Certain roles such as account management, consulting, and field marketing are exempt, and individual business groups may set stricter expectations, with some teams returning four or five days a week.
  • Chief people officer Amy Coleman said the shift "is not about reducing headcount," a point highlighted as reports tally roughly 15,000 layoffs at Microsoft earlier this year.
  • Microsoft is providing manager resources via its Managers@Microsoft SharePoint and enhancing workplace safety and security, with Coleman and CEO Satya Nadella set to discuss the plan at a September 11 employee town hall.