Dr. Gleb Tsipursky – The Office Whisperer
Nirit Cohen – WorkFutures
Angela Howard – Culture Expert
Drew Jones – Design & Innovation
Jonathan Price – CRE & Flex Expert
AT&T’s five-day return-to-office (RTO) mandate, which began this week, is facing significant challenges, according to employees across the country.
Several workers at the company’s Atlanta offices told Business Insider that the change to full-time in-office work is not going smoothly, with issues like overcrowded parking, limited desk availability, and long elevator waits.
Internal documents obtained by Business Insider suggest AT&T is aware that the number of employees being asked to work on-site exceeds the available workstations in some offices.
One internal FAQ revealed that, in certain divisions, only 70% to 80% of the workforce assigned to a specific office location would have access to a desk.
The memo also instructed employees not to leave personal items or set up permanent signage at desks, as these would be removed.
Employees in the Atlanta office reported that securing a desk has become highly competitive.
One worker said he arrived before 7 a.m. and still struggled to find an available workstation, while another employee noted that by 9 a.m., desks were already occupied, and some workers were forced to sit in dining areas or around conference tables.
As more employees have returned to the office under AT&T’s full-time in office requirement, some workers said the office environment has become more chaotic, with employees competing for space and sometimes speaking over one another during simultaneous Microsoft Teams meetings.
The shift to a full five-day office requirement is exacerbating these challenges, according to the workers.
Finding parking has also become an issue, especially at offices converted from older, less-dense cubicle layouts to more tightly packed floor plans. AT&T has indicated that it is monitoring workspace capacity and may make adjustments as needed.
The company expects some workers to be out of the office each week due to sick days, work travel, and vacations, according to a memo from AT&T’s Chief Technology Officer Jeremy Legg.
In a bid to encourage employees to use stairs, rather than wait for increasingly crowded elevators, signs with motivational quotes were placed in front of elevators at the Atlanta office.
Some of the quotes included phrases like, “There is no elevator to the top of the corporate ladder,” and “Each step you take brings you closer to who you’re meant to be.” These signs were reportedly removed by Tuesday morning.
AT&T’s new RTO policy is part of a larger trend among major companies, including Amazon and Dell, which are requiring employees to return to the office full-time. The company has stated that in-office collaboration is valuable for innovation and that consolidating work locations will reduce costs and simplify operations.
However, many employees feel that the mandate is less about collaboration and more about cutting costs, with some speculating that the RTO rules may be a way to push out workers.
AT&T’s phased return is set to continue this year, with more employees expected to return to offices under the new mandate.
While the company maintains that the policy is designed to benefit employees and the business, workers remain skeptical about the true motivations behind the change.
