Starbucks Ups Return to Office Mandate to 4 Days for Corporate Staff

Starbucks is upping its return-to-office requirement for corporate employees to four days from three.

Employees will be expected to work in the office Monday through Thursday, CEO Brian Niccol told staff in an email sent Monday.

The requirement will take effect once Starbucks’ new fiscal year starts in October. It applies to employees near support centers in Seattle and Toronto, as well as other regional offices in North America.

In the email, Niccol said being in person allows employees to “share ideas more effectively, creatively solve hard problems, and move much faster,” and “build and strengthen our culture.”

“As we work to turn the business around, all these things matter more than ever,” he said.

Niccol and Starbucks have spent the last several months trying to improve sales at the coffee chain. Their efforts have ranged from changing Starbucks’ bathroom policy to increasing staffing at stores to improve service.

Niccol said during Starbucks’ last earnings report in April that the company’s results haven’t improved yet. Sales for that quarter slipped 1%.

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Starbucks’ previous CEO, Howard Schultz, who left the company in 2023, required employees within commuting distance of the chain’s Seattle headquarters to be in person at least three days a week starting in early 2023.

In light of the new return-to-office mandate, Niccol said Starbucks is offering employees who don’t want to work four days in an office the choice to leave for a one-time cash payment.

“We understand not everyone will agree with this approach,” Niccol wrote.”But as a company built on human connection, and given the scale of the turnaround ahead, we believe this is the right path for Starbucks.”

When Niccol started as CEO in September, he said he would commute by jet from his home in Southern California to Starbucks’ headquarters in Seattle. Starbucks said Monday that Niccol now has an office and residence in Seattle.