Starbucks is telling its office workers to spend more time at their desks—or take a buyout—as the company pushes to revive lagging sales and restore its in-person culture. Starting in October, employees must be in the office at least four days a week, USA Today reports. CEO Brian Niccol announced the change Monday. Workers who aren't on board are being offered a voluntary buyout, which includes a cash payout if they opt to leave.
Niccol framed the decision as an attempt to rebuild Starbucks' in-person culture, arguing that face-to-face collaboration fuels creativity and quicker problem-solving—qualities he says are essential as the company seeks a turnaround. "We do our best work when we're together," he noted in a statement. As of last year, Starbucks had about 16,000 employees who worked outside of its stores, CNBC reports.
The new policy expands on the company's current requirement of three days a week in the office, and it comes as other major employers, including Amazon, Walmart, Google, and JPMorgan Chase, are similarly rolling back pandemic-era flexibility. All "support center people leaders" working remotely will also be required to relocate to either Seattle or Toronto within a year, a requirement that was made of all executives in February, Fox Business reports.
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The news lands as employees across industries push back against return-to-office mandates. A recent Pew survey found that three-quarters of workers whose jobs can be done remotely are still working from home at least part time, with nearly half saying they'd likely quit if ordered back to the office full time.