TikTok orders London staff back to office for minimum of two days a week

TikTok has ordered London staff back to the office for a minimum of two days a week to ‘inspire creativity’ and make the business ‘stronger’. 

The social media giant emailed employees encouraging them to attend the office three days a week – with a minimum of two days on site required, after some staff spent the past two years working remotely. 

‘We believe that face-to-face interaction can inspire creativity and creates irreplaceable value,’ the email said. 

It added: ‘Spending time together helps build mutual understanding and trust, which makes us a closer team and a stronger business. We want to balance the need to bring our people together while offering flexibility that respects team and employee needs.’ 

Employees have been told to make the change this month, with some granted a period of grace until September before they have to complete the move. 

It is understood the approach may vary across teams and exceptions to the two-day rule may be made according to the demands of different jobs and individual circumstances. 

Other big tech firms have already begun to make the shift. 

Google required employees to be in the office at least three days a week from April. 

Google chief executive Sundar Pichai told The Wall Street Journal: ‘I think we can be more purposeful about the time they’re in, making sure group meetings, collaboration, creative brainstorming, or community building happens then.’ 

But he added many staff will continue to ‘enjoy the flexibility of working from home a couple [of] days [a] week, spending time in another city for part of the year, or even moving there permanently.’