In a move that signals a return to pre-COVID office life, Washington Post CEO William Lewis informed employees on Thursday that they will be required to work from the newspaper’s offices five days a week starting in June 2025. The announcement, which follows a particularly hectic week covering the 2024 presidential election, was framed as a way to restore the “great office energy” that Lewis believes the publication thrived on before the pandemic.
In a memo to staff, Lewis expressed his gratitude for their work during the election cycle, thanking them for their “hard work and dedication.” He also celebrated the vibrant office environment that he believes was key to their success. “I want that great office energy for us every day,” Lewis wrote, reinforcing his desire to recreate the dynamic atmosphere that characterized the newsroom in pre-pandemic days.
The new mandate requires all employees, except for managers, to return to the office five days a week starting June 2, 2025, with managers required to be in the office full-time by February 3, 2025. Lewis acknowledged that the shift from three days to five in the office may be challenging for some, but emphasized the long lead time to adjust. “For others, we know it will be an adjustment,” Lewis said, referring to the impact on employees’ routines and work-life balance. “This is why we are giving more than six months for many of our colleagues to work it through.”
This decision comes as the Washington Post currently allows employees to work from home two days a week, a policy that has been in place since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. Despite the flexibility, Lewis is now pushing for a return to the office, calling it essential for fostering collaboration and maintaining the company’s culture. However, not all employees are on board with this move.
The union representing many of the Post’s staff, the Washington Post Guild, expressed strong dissatisfaction with the new policy. In a message to its members, the union called the decision “outdated” and out of touch with the realities of modern work-life balance. “After four years of successful flexible work arrangements, The Post plans to institute an inflexible and outdated work-from-the-office policy that does not reflect the reality of our jobs or lives,” the Guild wrote in an email obtained by the *Washingtonian*. The union argued that the change would not lead to increased productivity but would instead disrupt employees’ lives and undermine their work.
This move from the Post’s management comes on the heels of another controversial decision: scrapping a planned endorsement of Vice President Kamala Harris for the 2024 election. The decision, which ruffled feathers among some staff and subscribers, was defended by Washington Post owner Jeff Bezos, who argued that such endorsements would only “create a perception of bias” and would not impact the election outcome.
While Lewis’ decision to bring employees back into the office may be seen as an effort to restore normalcy, it also highlights a broader tension between traditional work structures and the growing demand for flexible work arrangements. As businesses, including media outlets like the Washington Post, navigate the post-pandemic landscape, it’s clear that the balance between office culture and remote work remains a contentious issue.
For now, employees at the Post are left to grapple with a decision that could significantly alter the fabric of their work lives, with many feeling that the forced return to office could undermine the flexibility that allowed them to be more productive and satisfied in their roles. The move also raises the question: Is this the future of work, or a step backward for a company trying to maintain its relevance in an increasingly digital and flexible world?
