Walmart offers employees a more 'flexible' way of working, asking them to return to the office next month

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Walmart asked all of its corporate associates to return to the office in a memo released Friday.
The retailer did not disclose if this change is mandatory.
The transition will begin on November 8, according to Walmart's chief people officer Donna Morris.

Walmart asked its corporate associates to return to the office next month, saying in a note to employees "there is no substitution for being in the offices together."

The note, posted on the company's website, stated that associates who work in the companies campus offices will return November 8 as part of a "new, more flexible way of working" after operating remotely for most of the coronavirus pandemic. The company's Global Tech team will continue to work remotely, the note said.

Walmart did not respond to Insider's request to comment on whether or not the return to campus offices is mandatory for employees. Walmart also did not disclose any specific details related to this plan or if employees will have the choice to work remotely.

"Given all campus associates will be fully vaccinated or have an approved accommodation in November, we will transition to working together in our campus offices on a more regular basis starting the week of Nov. 8," Donna Morris, Chief People Officer, said in the note. "There is no substitution for being in the offices together," she added.

The move comes as many companies grapple with whether to make a return to the office mandatory for employees who transitioned to remote work about 18 months ago in the early days of pandemic lockdowns. Many workers have said they would refuse to come back to offices full time. Sundar Pichai, CEO of Google parent Alphabet Inc., said this week the company would enact a hybrid model. Amazon this month said it would let corporate employees work from home indefinitely.

In July, Walmart mandated corporate employees receive the COVID-19 vaccine. Employees had until October 4 to get vaccinated, Insider reported. Walmart was the first major retailer to require certain corporate employees get vaccinated.

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