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WPP, the advertising group, has told more than 100,000 of its employees that they will need to return to work in the office at least four days a week, the latest sign that employers are tightening work-from-home policies since the pandemic ended.
In a memo to employees on Tuesday, WPP According to CEO Mark Reeb, “It is expected that from the beginning of April this year . . . Most of us spend an average of four days a week in the office.
He added that WPP’s success still rests on the fundamentals of human connection, creativity and communication, and that “we do our best work when we’re together.”
Until now, the private agencies owned by WPP had adopted their own hybrid working policies, but the group’s headquarters staff were required to be in the office three days a week.
The news makes WPP, which employs around 110,000 people in offices around the world, the latest major global employer. From this month Amazon told its employees. According to CEO Andy Jassey, the previous three-day-a-week workplace rule has reinforced our belief that we are in the office.
In the United Kingdom, BT asked 50,000 workers to return to the office at least three days a week at the beginning of this year. Other UK employers this month include PwC, Santander and Asda, which will strengthen rules on working from home, marking a major shift in corporate attitudes to work after the global pandemic ends.
WPP found that higher office attendance is associated with stronger “employee engagement, improved customer survey results and better financial performance”. with them”
Employers are now facing new challenges, sometimes with a lack of office space, as they bring more workers back from home.
The WPP will “undertake a detailed plan to address capacity requirements and other related issues in the coming months,” according to its international offices.
The UK-listed advertising group will soon open a new office at One Southwark Bridge Road in London, which will house mostly GroupM media agencies and around 2,500 people. It was the former headquarters for the Financial Times.
The new office will be one of three office campuses in London, joining the corporate headquarters at Rose Court across the road and the nearby Sea Containers House.
In a New Year note, Read has hinted at a merger between its two biggest rivals – IPG and Omnicom – As he said last month, “Industry consolidation and congestion may distract our competitors, but our focus in 2025 is very important.”
