Salesforce Is Cracking Down on In-Office Work, Requiring Some Employees in the Office 5 Days a Week: 'A Step Back' The news was reportedly given to employees via an internal memo.
By Emily Rella Edited by Melissa Malamut
Key Takeaways
- Salesforce is reportedly mandating that certain employees return to office four to five times per week, according to an internal memo viewed by multiple outlets.
- The news comes weeks after the tech company reportedly laid off around 300 employees.
- Two years ago, Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff spoke out against return-to-office mandates, saying they were "never going to work."
Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.
Salesforce is implementing a strict return-to-office policy for employees around the country.
"Select employees in sales, workplace services, data center engineering and onsite support technicians under the chief information officer will be required to come to the office four to five days a week, effective Oct. 1," an internal memo read, per the New York Post.
Other departments, including legal, product, and marketing will be mandated to an "office-flex" schedule, which means that they are required to come back into the office a minimum of three days per week.
Some engineering roles are required to return to the office for only 10 days per quarter.
Related: Amazon Is Reportedly Tracking 'Coffee Badging' Workers and Their Real In-Office Hours
The decision is a pivot — in 2022, Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff said that return-to-office mandates were "never going to work."
According to the San Francisco Standard, Salesforce will also be rolling out an "internal dashboard" to track employee badge scans in its U.S. offices beginning in August. All employees will have access to this data to promote "full visibility" of the company's tracking policy.
"Salesforce has always been a hybrid work company," a Salesforce spokesperson told the outlet. "Our guidelines focus on in-person connection, while also recognizing the value of working away from the office."
"We all know we are more productive at home," one employee wrote about the news on Reddit. "I think they are just trying to come to terms with the numbers and freaking out."
"As much as I don't want to admit it, there are days where going into the office is super helpful," another argued.
On the same thread, some called the decision a "step back" for the company.
Earlier this month, Salesforce quietly laid off roughly 300 employees.
Related: Salesforce Investors Reject CEO Marc Benioff's $39.6M Pay
"Like any healthy business, we continuously assess whether we have the right structure in place to best serve our customers and fuel growth areas," a spokesperson for the company told Bloomberg following the report. "In some cases that leads to roles being eliminated."
Salesforce joins Amazon in cracking down on in-office work. Amazon is reportedly tracking employees' hours in the office to comply with new mandates and discourage "coffee badging."
Salesforce did not immediately respond to Entrepreneur's request for comment.
