Sonos will soon encourage employees on its various product teams who live near its US office locations to come in for at least two days per week, The Verge has learned. That’s a notable break from the company’s history, throughout which Sonos has enthusiastically supported fully remote and hybrid work. Job listings at Sonos routinely state that “it’s about impact, not location.” Glassdoor reviews have long backed this up, with employees reporting no pressure to come into the office.
But that lax stance is set to change slightly as Sonos continues its effort to right the ship following this year’s app mishap and stay on track with upcoming products. It’s adopting a stricter policy that will call for product employees within proximity of Santa Barbara, Boston, Seattle, and San Francisco to regularly be present at those offices. The Santa Barbara location is where Sonos is headquartered. The company also currently operates international offices in Paris and the Netherlands
“Flexibility has been a core tenet of how Sonos has operated since our founding. Flexibility is not going away, but like many companies, we are evaluating the impact that in-person collaboration has on the…