AT&T moves headquarters amid return-to-office policy struggles

"Like many other companies across the nation, the telecom giant pulled the plug on remote work, ordering employees to return to working in the office five days a week. Before the policy change, employees were allowed to work hybrid schedules, in which they were mandated to work only three days a week. An AT&T spokesperson told Business Insider last year that the company updated its return-to-office policy to help "drive collaboration and innovation" so it could better serve its customers."

"In 2025, 28% of companies required employees to be in the office five days a week, while 13% required four, 28% required three and 11% allowed full remote work. However, in 2026, 1 in 8 companies plan to increase the number of required days in the office, while 3 in 10 won't allow remote work. The main reasons companies are increasing the required in-office days are: to strengthen company culture (64%), to improve productivity (62%), to maximize the use of office space (45%), and to encourage employees to quit (8%). Source: Resume Builder"

AT&T moved from a three-day hybrid schedule to a five-day in-office mandate, citing a need to drive collaboration and innovation to better serve customers. A survey from Resume Builder shows in 2025 many companies used a mix of full-time, four-day, three-day, and fully remote policies. For 2026, one in eight companies plans to increase required in-office days, and three in ten plan to disallow remote work entirely. Employers cite strengthening company culture (64%), improving productivity (62%), and maximizing office-space use (45%) as primary reasons. Some leaders equate visibility with productivity and fear losing culture and collaboration.

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