If you're within 50 miles of Redmond, then it's time to come in

Microsoft is rolling out a new return-to-office policy that will see first Redmond, then US, and then global staff getting back on-prem at least three days a week.

"How we work has forever changed," Microsoft's Chief People Officer Amy Coleman told staff in a blog post. And that change will start in Redmond by the end of February. If you work within a 50-mile radius of the office, Microsoft has already emailed you if it expects your attendance, she said.

The changes will spread across the rest of America and then internationally on an unspecified timescale. We've asked for clarification and will update this article if it comes in.

Coleman's note looked to get ahead of possible criticisms that mandatory RTO policies serve as a backdoor way to reduce headcount, as employees who'd moved far away from offices to take advantage of companies' remote work policies ...