AT&T makes drastic decision after employee policy backfires

AT&T turned heads in January last year when it decided to pull a lever that has left corporate America up in arms. 

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 in the office.

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.

More companies plan to follow in AT&T’s footsteps this year, mainly to boost company culture and productivity, according to a recent survey from Resume Builder. 

How many companies plan to erase remote work in 2026: 

• 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

“Many leaders claim to support hybrid work but are calling employees back more often because of underlying pressures and old habits,” said Stacie Haller, chief career advisor at ResumeBuilder.com, in a statement. “They equate visibility with productivity and fear losing culture and collaboration.”

AT&T moves its headquarters after criticism from employees

Shortly after AT&T’s updated in-office mandate went into effect last year, the company faced criticism from employees for having a lack of open desks, parking spaces and elevators at some of its offices. 

Now, AT&T is addressing its workspace problem, starting with the relocation of its headquarters from Dallas, Texas, to Plano, Texas. The new office consolidates three existing locations in the Dallas area, according to a recent report from Business Insider.

In a memo sent to employees, AT&T CEO John Stankey said the new office will be built from “the ground up,” spanning across 54 acres of land. 

He said that the campus will be “designed for collaboration, innovation and engagement,” as the company’s work has “evolved significantly” since it developed its headquarters in Dallas in 2008.

Related: AT&T’s harsh new policy for employees hits a snag

“Over the next few years, we’ll be transforming this site from the ground up – demolishing the old buildings and designing a new, modern campus that’s built for how we work best: together,” he said. 

Stankey also clarified that the company is “targeting partial occupancy” in the new office as early as the second half of 2028. The move marks the company’s new “commitment” to reimagine its workspaces across the country after recent employee feedback. 

“In last year’s employee survey, you shared your expectations for professional, well-maintained and functional workspaces,” said Stankey. “We made a commitment to invest in our workspaces to bring them to a common standard, notably in Atlanta, GA, Chantilly, VA and Bedminster, NJ, to name just a few locations. We will continue to evaluate and invest in our workspaces around the country as our business needs evolve and change.”

AT&T CEO recently sent workers a harsh messageamid struggles 

The move from AT&T comes after Stankey doubled down on the company’s new return-to-office policy in a separate memo to employees in August, following a companywide survey that revealed only 79% of over 9,000 employees felt committed and engaged with their work, falling short of previous expectations.

“We run a dynamic, customer-facing business, tackling large-scale, challenging initiatives,” said Stankey. “If the requirements dictated by this dynamic do not align to your personal desires, you have every right to find a career opportunity that is suitable to your aspirations and needs.”

More Labor:

• Intel quietly pulls back major employee commitment amid troubles
• Google quietly doubles down on a controversial workplace trend
• Samsung cracks down on an alarming workplace problem

“That said, if a self-directed, virtual, or hybrid work schedule is essential for you to manage your career aspirations and life challenges, you will have a difficult time aligning your priorities with those of the company and the culture we aim to establish,” he added.

He also said that the company will evaluate employee behavioral data as it enforces its in-office mandate. Through this data, AT&T reportedly later discovered that some employees were only working in the office for 30 minutes to two hours per day. The company later took action to curb that behavior. 

U.S. employees aren’t ready to break up with remote work  

Many U.S. workers aren’t too thrilled about the gradual disappearance of remote work, with some even claiming that they will quit their jobs in response to the enforcement of an RTO mandate, according to a survey from FlexJobs last year.  

How U.S. workers feel about return to office policies:

• Approximately 53% of U.S. workers said they or someone they know has been ordered to return to the office in the past year, a significant increase from 23% in 2024.
• Additionally, 76% of workers stated that they would seek a new job if remote work were to be eliminated.
• Also, 69% of workers would accept a pay cutfor remote work, an 11% increase from 2024. 
• Specifically, 58% said they prefer to work fully remotely, while 40% prefer hybrid workplaces and only 2% want to work in the office full-time.
  Source: FlexJobs

“Low quit rates and trends like ‘job hugging’ may suggest a workforce that is staying put, but that does not mean workers are not quietly considering a job change,” said Toni Frana, a career expert at FlexJobs, in a statement. “As our latest report shows, it comes down to what workers are willing to accept before deciding to job-hop, and most are drawing the line at remote work.”

As more U.S. employers cut remote work out of the picture, nationwide office foot traffic remains below pre-pandemic levels; however, it is slowly improving, according to a recent data analysis report from Placer.ai. 

The report found that the average number of nationwide office visits per working day in November 2025 was 32.9% lower than in November 2019, marking a post-pandemic record occupancy.

“November 2025 delivered the strongest nationwide office occupancy for any November since 2019, with average visits per working day reaching a five-year high,” wrote Shira Petrack, head of content at Placer.ai, in the report.

Related: Dell issues firm warning after employees violate work policy