Media Giants RTO Policies: 2026 Return-to-Office Guide

Major media companies are enforcing return-to-office mandates for early 2026, marking a significant shift in remote work policies. The changes affect thousands of employees across the industry.

Paramount Skydance is implementing the strictest policy, requiring five in-office days weekly starting January 5, 2026. NBCUniversal follows with a four-day requirement. Disney established similar rules in 2023, while Warner Bros. Discovery and YouTube maintain three-day requirements. Netflix remains the outlier with no companywide mandate.

These policies come as the industry balances collaboration needs with employee flexibility. Companies offering severance packages saw hundreds of employees depart rather than comply with new in-person requirements.

Paramount Skydance announced in early September that thousands of employees must return to New York and Los Angeles offices five days a week beginning January 5, 2026. The decision came less than a month after CEO David Ellison took charge following the Paramount-Skydance merger.

Paramount offered severance packages to staff unwilling to return to in-person work. Approximately 600 employees accepted these packages, according to the company's third-quarter shareholder letter in mid-November.

The company is preparing its offices for the influx by having New York and Los Angeles employees work from home throughout December. Some staff members remain exempt from the current mandate:

• Employees based outside the United States
• Workers hired for fully remote positions
• Staff not assigned to NY or LA offices

These exempt employees will receive information about "Phase Two" of the return-to-office plan in 2026.

NBCUniversal followed a similar path, requiring employees to report four days per week starting January 5, 2026. Staffers can work from home on Fridays. NBCU operating chief Adam Miller explained the rationale: "In-person work and collaboration spark innovation, promote creativity, and build stronger connections."

NBCU also offered severance to unwilling employees. Notably, this exit package was one-size-fits-all, meaning it did not factor in tenure.

Disney implemented its four-day in-office requirement in early 2023, nearly three years before the current 2026 mandates. CEO Bob Iger stated at the time: "It is my belief that working together more in-person will benefit the company's creativity, culture, and our employees' careers."

However, Disney's policy enforcement appears inconsistent. Some employees report strict enforcement of the four-day rule, while others indicate managers are more lax about badge swipes and attendance tracking.

Warner Bros. Discovery maintains a more moderate three-day in-office requirement. Employees work in person three days weekly with work-from-home options for the remaining two days. The policy faces potential changes depending on acquisition activity, as the company could be purchased by either Netflix or Paramount Skydance.

YouTube (owned by Google) offers a hybrid approach with specific parameters:

• Two work-from-home days per week
• A "Work From Anywhere" program allowing four weeks of remote work annually

Google revised its "Work From Anywhere" policy in fall 2025. The update clarified that using one "WFA" day counts as an entire week. These weeks are intended for working away from homes or worksites, not as substitutes for regular work-from-home days or paid time off.

John Casey, Google's VP of performance and rewards, stated: "The policy was always intended to be taken in increments of a week and not be used as a substitute for working from home in a regular hybrid workweek."

Netflix stands apart from its competitors by avoiding any companywide work-site policy. Employees can choose to work fully remote, come to the office daily, or adopt any arrangement in between.

Work locations vary by team and position. A Netflix spokesperson explained that this approach provides teams "the information and freedom to make decisions that best suit their type of work."

This relaxed policy was once common among tech companies, but the industry is shifting toward stricter requirements. Even video-conference giant Zoom has moved away from fully remote options, suggesting a broader trend toward in-person collaboration across the technology and media sectors.

The wave of return-to-office mandates represents a pivotal moment for the media industry. Companies are betting that physical presence drives innovation, though the approach varies significantly between legacy media conglomerates and tech-native platforms.

Key differences emerge in implementation:

• Legacy media (Paramount, NBCUniversal, Disney) favor structured, multi-day requirements
• Hybrid companies (Warner Bros. Discovery, YouTube) balance flexibility with collaboration needs
• Tech-first platforms (Netflix) maintain maximum employee autonomy

The financial impact is measurable. Paramount's acceptance of 600 severance requests demonstrates that some employees will leave rather than comply. NBCUniversal's standardized exit package suggests similar departures may occur.

As 2026 approaches, these policies will reshape workplace dynamics across New York and Los Angeles media hubs. Companies are investing in office infrastructure while employees navigate new expectations around commuting and work-life balance.