Microsoft will make it mandatory to work three days in the office, policy will change from 2026; impact on India too

On Tuesday, Microsoft announced that from next year, its employees will be required to work three days a week in the office. This new policy will be implemented in other US and international offices, starting from the company's headquarters, Redmond, Washington.

The company's Chief People Officer Amy Coleman said in her post that the policy will be implemented in three phases. The first phase will include employees living around the headquarters. After this, other US offices and eventually international employees will come under this policy.

Companies adopted work-from-home for safety reasons during the COVID-19 pandemic. However, other big tech companies like Amazon are now withdrawing this policy and asking employees to return to the office.

Employees living within 50 miles of the Redmond headquarters will have to work in the office three days a week until February 2026, the post said. Timelines and details for other US offices will be announced soon, while plans for employees outside the US will begin next year.

Analysts say Microsoft's new policy is a sign of a shift in the tech industry towards a hybrid work model and will encourage employees to return to the office.