Microsoft Orders Employees Back to the Office Three Days Per Week

Five years after the COVID-19 pandemic upended everything, Microsoft told employees worldwide that they will be required to return to the office. The transition will occur over three phases beginning in early 2026.

“In the AI era, we are moving faster than ever, building world-class technology that changes how people live and work, and how organizations everywhere operate,” Microsoft chief people officer Amy Coleman wrote in an email to all employees. “If you reflect on our history, the most meaningful breakthroughs happen when we build on each other’s ideas together, in real time.”

Coleman states the obvious reason for switching back to in-person on-site work, noting that teams drive better results when they work together in person. And that the company’s corporate need to be competitive with AI requires “the kind of energy and momentum that comes from smart people working side by side, solving challenging problems together.”

And so Microsoft is updating its flexible work expectations to three days a week in the office, starting with Seattle-area employees who live within 50 miles of a Microsoft office, in February 2026. After that, the change will vaguely expand to other U.S.-based employees and then employees outside the U.S. Coleman said that timelines for the second and third phase will be announced soon.

Employees who want to request an exception can do so, but they only have until Friday, September 19. And some groups can “deviate” from Microsoft’s company-wide expectations, which might include employees being in their office more than three times per week.