WPP will mandate that staff work in the office at least four days per week starting in April.
CEO Mark Read sent an email to its more than 111,000 staff yesterday London time confirming the changes. The move affects staff in all markets.
Employees will also be required to work from the office on at least two Fridays per month, but will be allowed to choose which other days they work remotely. Does that make Friday the new Thursday?
In the note sent to staff, Read wrote:
“Spending more time together is important to all of us, and we are making a change to help that happen. From the beginning of April this year, the expectation across WPP will be that most of us spend an average of four days a week in the office.
“This doesn’t mean we’re going back to old ways of doing things. During the pandemic we all learned the value of greater flexibility in our working lives and of being trusted to balance work and personal commitments.
“We need to keep that spirit of flexibility and trust, and will approach this transition with pragmatism and an understanding of people’s different circumstances. There will be a clear process to request additional flexibility – including for those with caring responsibilities, health issues and other considerations. Some roles that have always been fully or largely remote will continue as they are.”
He also made an effort to justify the decision: “The data from across WPP agencies shows that higher levels of office attendance are associated with stronger employee engagement, improved client survey scores and better financial performance. More of our clients are moving in this direction and expecting it of the teams who work with them.”
Read made a thinly veiled stab at the proposed Omnicom-IPG merger and explained that now was the ideal time for WPP to circle the wagons and be more focused on delivering for its clients.
“While industry mergers and jostling for status may distract our competitors, focus will be paramount for us in 2025,” Read said. “We have the opportunity to stand out by being more obsessed than ever with serving our clients. In every single decision we make, we should ask ourselves, ‘how will this help us do even better work for our clients?’ Those companies who embrace this philosophy will be those who emerge on top,” he wrote.
Locally, WPP staff will be able to head to the new WPP campus in Barangaroo.
The move makes WPP the first major holdco to mandate four days in the office for staff. Publicis and Omnicom, for example, only ask its staff for three days in the office.
When contacted by Ad Age, WPP did not say what would happen to staff who defied the mandate. Publicis Media in the US reportedly laid off “dozens” of workers after they ignored its return-to-office memo.
