3M Rolls Back on “Trust-Based Approach” with Return to Office Mandate

Another day, another company taking a dramatic U-turn in its approach to remote working.

This time it is industrial conglomerate, 3M, which has around 85,000 employees worldwide.

The company’s new CEO has decided that all managers need to come in from Tuesday to Thursday but this mandate is mild compared to many of the big tech companies who want five days in the office and no less.

Slow Return to Office Rollout

Bill Brown took over as chief executive in May and has now issued his mandate that his directors and above be in the office three days a week. However this is an expectation not a requirement.

It is also not going to be a requirement for staff under director level. Staff on the production lines have always worked to different policies as they need to be present in the facility.

The first employees expected to comply will be those living within 50 miles of the company’s Minnesota headquarters. However, the policy will then be applied globally over time.

Roll Back on Previous Remote Working Policy

While 3M’s return to office (RTO) mandate is far less stringent than many others – including Amazon and Dell – it is still a far cry from the “Work Your Way” policy that the company made a splash about in 2021.

The company’s execs might well be cringing when they read the gushing statements about “3M’s trust-based approach that lets employees create a schedule that helps them work when and where they can most effectively”.

Aman Gupta, vice president of Enterprise Workplace Strategy said at the time: “It is about getting your work done and delivering results. Not about where you sit and what time you logged on.”

Not so anymore, says Bill Brown, who insists that these mandated “collaboration days” are needed to “reinvigorate the 3M innovation machine”.

Why are RTO Mandates Happening Everywhere?

Despite evidence that RTO policies can actually have a negative impact on employee efficiency, companies are pushing hard to get employees back into their offices.

Bloomberg points to the heritage of 3M – a company that was founded in 1902, as a reason why it values presenteeism; as research suggests older companies prefer staff at their desks. But this doesn’t explain the dramatic U-turn.

For Amazon, the RTO mandate seems to be driven by CEO Andy Jassy’s dislike of remote working. He is pushing ahead and has made it clear that anyone who doesn’t like the policy can look elsewhere for employment. At least the 3M employees have some agency over their work schedule…at the moment.