Robinhood CEO Reverses Remote Work Policy, Mandates Office Return for Execs

Robinhood CEO Vlad Tenev has reversed his stance on remote work, requiring executives to return to the office five days a week. Managers must commute four days, while individual contributors report three days. Tenev admitted regretting his 2022 remote-first decision ’pretty much immediately,’ calling it a reversible choice despite initial belief. He joked that managers should endure more office pain than their teams to maintain fairness.

The move aligns with a broader corporate crackdown on remote work, despite many CEOs avoiding full-time office attendance themselves. Starbucks CEO Brian Niccol initially worked remotely from California before relocating to Seattle, while Amazon’s Andy Jassy insists in-person collaboration fuels innovation. Tech giants like Microsoft are also tightening policies, requiring more office presence after years of flexibility.

Enforcement tactics are growing stricter, with Amazon banning ’coffee badging’—brief office check-ins—and Samsung tracking badge swipes. Meanwhile, smaller firms leverage remote work as a recruitment perk, as studies show it rivals salary in job-seeker priorities. Over 70% of hybrid workers would quit if forced back full-time without a raise, highlighting the tension between corporate mandates and employee preferences.

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