Samsung enforces return-to-office for certain US employees
Samsung has enforced a requirement of working five days a week in the office for a group in its US-based semiconductor division, effective July 2025, ending remote work flexibility for some US employees, as reported by Business Insider.
Notification of the change was initiated in April 2025 and the changes were deemed as intended to support real-time collaboration and innovation among the employees in the said division.
To support managers in overseeing the transition, Samsung also announced a soon-to-be rolled out compliance tool for monitoring the attendance of employees.
The tool is also hoped to discourage “coffee badging”, the practice of briefly checking in for work, often long enough to swipe their card, grab a coffee, socialize, before spending the rest of the day working remotely.
This shift is part of a broader trend toward return-to-office policy rollouts seen across major corporations, including Amazon, TikTok, and Dell.
Background and Impact of the Return-to-Office Policy Change
Until mid-2025, Samsung had a “FlexWork” policy in place, under which employees were permitted to work remotely up to two days a week.
In May, employees were requested to begin the transition to more regular office attendance, and a full return to the office was carried out in early July.
Since the transition, Samsung’s HR team reported an increase in site traffic, higher consumption in cafeterias, parking lots consistently filled throughout the day, as well as more reported smiling faces in hallways.
Attendance Monitoring Measures and Compliance Tool Rollout
The compliance tool, expected for rollout soon within Samsung, is intended to help initiate conversations between managers and employees regarding in-office attendance expectations.
The tool is expected to offer team leads data on the number of days and total hours each team member spends on-site, providing metrics for individual attendance trends and alignment with their designated in-office hours.
The company noted limitations in the tool, as integration with paid time off or travel exceptions is not available in its initial version due to customization bottlenecks.
A future revision, targeted for rollout at the end of 2025, is being explored to potentially address these gaps.
The tool also displayed permanent limitations, including lack of integration with business travel, customer meetings, and approved periodic exceptions.
As such, the company encouraged ongoing dialogue between managers, leaders and employees to align on adherence expectations and communicate personal circumstances that would require occasional exceptions.
Related Content
Google remote workers asked to return to the office or leave
4 days in-office week for Starbucks US & Canada staff
Create an account and take the hassle out of time tracking - it's FREE forever for unlimited users!
