Sherwin-Williams Mandates 5-Day Office Return in 2026

New RTO policy begins Jan. 1, 2026; Global rollout to follow

Sherwin-Williams will require all U.S.-based office employees to return to the office five days per week beginning January 1, 2026, ending its current hybrid work model. The policy, announced via internal email from CEO Heidi Petz on July 17, 2025, will apply to employees in the continental U.S., Alaska, Hawaii, and Canada, with plans to expand globally over time.

“The long-term plan is to apply this change to all office employees globally,” Petz wrote in the memo that Ken Prendergast of NEOtrans obtained.

The change follows more than three years of publicly stated commitment to flexible work. Sherwin-Williams’ own website still refers to its “Global Flexible Working Policy,” implemented in 2022, which “promotes hybrid working” and offers role-dependent flexibility.

Employee Reaction & Background

News of the mandate first surfaced on Reddit, where one employee wrote the following:

First off – They told people eligible for the voluntary separation program that the hybrid work policy is not changing. That caused quite a few people to stay that would have taken the deal. Two weeks after that program takes place and they announce this change.

Second – they built a building and parking lot that are significantly too small, even for a reduced workforce.

Third – they are charging $200 a month for a parking pass..

Forth – employee that were hired in with a hybrid work agreement in place are not going to have an exception. Essentially forcing them to pay extra for gas and parking that wasn’t a cost before.

The backlash appears to stem from two issues: timing and transparency. The mandate follows the company’s completion of voluntary separation agreements and an internal employee survey, both of which some workers believed implied a continued hybrid model.

New Headquarters and Space Concerns

The announcement comes as Sherwin-Williams prepares to move 3,500 headquarters staff into a brand-new 36-story office tower in downtown Cleveland. That relocation begins this fall and coincides with the opening of a new R&D center in Brecksville, Ohio, set to absorb 900 research staff in waves starting September 22.

But concerns are rising over whether the new office and its 920-space garage can accommodate all returning employees. One employee noted the new HQ “was sized for a hybrid workplace,” not full in-office staffing.

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