Corporate employee work systems are reverting to pre-COVID-19 norms.

The hybrid work model—combining remote work and three days of office attendance—that had become entrenched during the COVID-19 pandemic is giving way to a return to a five-day office workweek. This shift comes two years after the pandemic effectively ended.

Amazon, the world’s largest e-commerce company, eliminated remote work this year and implemented a mandatory five-day office attendance policy. During the COVID-19 period, Amazon allowed employees to work from home, then required at least three days in the office starting in May 2023. Most employees had been working three days in the office and two days remotely, but the two remote days have now been eliminated.

Server manufacturer Dell Technologies is fully returning to pre-COVID norms this month. Dell had previously encouraged three days of office attendance, then last year shifted to requiring a certain number of office days per quarter. Now, it has mandated a five-day office week again. Telecom company AT&T, along with global investment banks JPMorgan and Goldman Sachs, have also scrapped hybrid work policies.

Major tech companies like Apple, Google, and Microsoft continue to maintain a three-day office work system.

However, signs of a shift to a five-day workweek are emerging. Google co-founder Sergey Brin, in a memo to employees on the 26th of last month, encouraged at least five days of office attendance. Although Brin is not part of the executive team, making his statement unofficial, his status as a co-founder lends weight to his words.

During the COVID-19 period, when remote work became the norm, a return to the “past” seemed unlikely. Many predicted that hybrid work would become permanent, especially as employees favored it, citing its efficiency.

An engineer at a Silicon Valley tech firm remarked, “Even last year, the idea of working five days in the office felt unimaginable.”

Companies are shifting to a five-day office workweek because they believe three days in the office is insufficient for maintaining work efficiency. A lack of communication between management and employees has also been flagged as an issue. Many executives are dissatisfied with remote Zoom meetings, preferring face-to-face interactions.

Amazon CEO Andy Jassy, when announcing the shift to a five-day office week last September, said, “Looking back over the past five years, we continue to believe there are significant advantages to working together in the office. We’ve observed that teams can more easily learn, model, practice, and strengthen our culture when they’re in the office.”

Sergey Brin also urged employees to work harder, stating, “If we put in more effort, we can lead the industry in the field of artificial general intelligence (AGI), where AI becomes as smart as or smarter than humans,” amid intensifying competition.

Employees are unhappy with the return to a five-day office week. When Amazon announced the policy last year, a survey found that more than 7 out of 10 employees were considering leaving the company due to the mandate.

When tech companies transitioned from full remote work during COVID-19 to a three-day office schedule in 2023, employee discontent was vocal. However, unlike then, dissatisfaction is now less openly expressed. This is largely because the job market has deteriorated since the pandemic, as Big Tech firms have pursued cost-cutting measures.

Another tech company engineer noted, “While I’ve gotten used to the current work system, I have no choice but to follow company policy. A few years ago, I might have considered switching jobs, but the employment situation in the market isn’t what it used to be.”