US tech giant Microsoft is planning to tighten its office attendance policy, potentially implementing changes as early as January for some employees. The new policy will likely require employees to work in the office at least three days a week. 

The implementation dates for this policy differ across regions. Employees at the Redmond, Washington, headquarters will be required to work from the office more consistently starting in January, according to multiple media reports.

Microsoft spokesperson Frank Shaw confirmed the company is considering updates to its flexible work policies, but no final decisions have been reached. The tech giant has planned to announce the new policy by September.

Since late 2020, the tech major has implemented a flexible work policy, allowing employees to work remotely for nearly 50 per cent of the time without permission, providing them with greater flexibility.

Meta and Google have also implemented a three-day work-from-office policy. Certain Microsoft teams, including the Corporate, External, and Legal Affairs (CELA) group, are working in the office more than three days a week.

Other major tech companies have also recently proposed stricter work-from-office policies. Earlier this year, Microsoft’s competitor, Amazon, enforced a work-from-office policy requiring employees to work in person five days a week. AT&T introduced a similar policy last year.

Microsoft’s head of cloud and AI, Scott Guthrie, however, had told employees during an internal meeting last September that the company would only reconsider its flexible work policy if there was a clear decline in productivity.

The tech giant had recently been in the news for allegedly cutting off access to its data and services abruptly to the Russia-backed oil exploration and marketing company Nayara Energy, but later restored its services. In July, it also announced laying off 4 per cent of its workforce, or around 9,000 employees, in yet another round of job cuts this year.