Citigroup, Google Among Firms Tightening Return-to-Office Rules

Companies are getting serious about returning to the office despite opposition from workers set on keeping their flexible hours. In one of the latest moves, Citigroup Inc. said this week it is requiring stricter office attendance compliance.

Amid mounting layoffs and signs of a softening economy, a growing number of firms such as Blackrock Inc., Chipotle Mexican Grill Inc., Snap Inc. and Walt Disney Co. have felt emboldened to require workers to show up four days a week, testing the limits of the half in-office, half at-home post-pandemic equilibrium.

Under the stepped up return-to-office push, workers will need to decide whether to leave or stick it out. Though overall quit rates are easing in the US, a recent Markets Live Pulse survey found roughly one in two finance professionals said they’d switch jobs — or already have — if their managers cut back work-from-home.