Minnesota’s Biggest Companies Push For Return to Office

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ByHenry O'Loughlin

Minnesota return to office

In this report, we highlight the return-to-office (RTO) policies for the 10 biggest companies headquartered in Minnesota. This research by Buildremote is a free subset of our database, The Fortune 500 Return To Office Database.

This report was published on July 8, 2025.

Minnesota ranks 10th in the nation for Fortune 500 headquarters, with 17 major companies based in the state, including 3M, Target, UnitedHealth Group, and General Mills. As corporate America redefines its return-to-office (RTO) expectations in 2025, this article examines the RTO policies for the biggest companies in Minnesota.

 

The State Of Minnesota Sets A New In-Office Baseline

As private companies fine-tune their hybrid models, the State of Minnesota has implemented a stricter in-person baseline for its government workforce. A new policy that took effect June 1, 2025, now requires state employees to be in the office at least 50% of the time.

Governor Tim Walz described the shift:

“Call it old school or whatever, but it is certainly the practice across the public and in private sector—the energy that comes with being back in the office, the things that we gain together.”

The mandate applies to roughly 40,000 government employees. Labor unions representing tens of thousands of workers say the change was imposed without their input and undermines existing remote arrangements.

 

RTO Policies For 10 Of Minnesota’s Largest Employers

In the private sector, the move has also been toward more time in office. However, not a single one of these Fortune 500 companies has mandated five days per week in the office.

Here are the RTO policies, starting with the biggest company first.

UnitedHealth Group

UnitedHealth Group requires employees in Minnesota and Washington DC to be in the office four days per week. The previous policy was 3 days/week since 2021.

  • Headquarters: Minnetonka, Minnesota
  • Global Headcount: 440,000
  • Fortune 500 Rank: 4
  • Office Visit Expectations: 4 days/week
  • Workplace Policy: Hybrid
  • RTO Date: 7/7/25

Learn More: UnitedHealth Mandates 4-Day Office Return

Target

As of July 11, 2025, Target mandates that merchandising and sourcing teams be in the office three days per week at headquarters. All other corporate employees are expected to be in the office five weeks per year under the company’s hybrid policy.

Target’s most recent policy was a slight increase from one week per quarter previously.

  • Headquarters: Minneapolis, Minnesota
  • Global Headcount: 415,000
  • Fortune 500 Rank: 37
  • Office Visit Expectations:
    • 3 days/week in-office for merchandising and sourcing teams
    • 5 weeks/year for all other corporate employees
  • Workplace Policy: Hybrid
  • RTO Date: 7/11/25

Best Buy

Best Buy requires employees to be in the office three days per week under a policy it set in 2022.

  • Headquarters: Richfield, Minnesota
  • Global Headcount: 85,000
  • Fortune 500 Rank: 100
  • Office Visit Expectations: 3 days/week
  • Workplace Policy: Hybrid
  • RTO Date: 4/18/22

U.S. Bancorp

U.S. Bancorp requires employees to be in the office three days per week. The policy was set in 2024. 

  • Headquarters: Minneapolis, Minnesota
  • Global Headcount: 75,465
  • Fortune 500 Rank: 107
  • Office Visit Expectations: 3 days/week
  • Workplace Policy: Hybrid
  • RTO Date: 3/1/24

3M

3M requires employees to be in the office four days per week under its hybrid policy. The most recent policy is a stark departure from its “Work Your Way” program set in 2021.

  • Headquarters: St. Paul, Minnesota
  • Global Headcount: 85,000
  • Fortune 500 Rank: 134
  • Office Visit Expectations: 4 days/week
  • Workplace Policy: Hybrid
  • RTO Date: 9/1/25

General Mills

General Mills requires employees to be in the office three days per week.

  • Headquarters: Golden Valley, Minnesota
  • Global Headcount: 34,000
  • Fortune 500 Rank: 203
  • Office Visit Expectations: 3 days/week
  • Workplace Policy: Hybrid
  • RTO Date: 2/17/25

Land O’Lakes

Land O’Lakes asks employees to be in the office two days per week, according to a Fortune article highlighting the company’s new flexible work policy that was set in 2022.

  • Headquarters: Arden Hills, Minnesota
  • Global Headcount: 9,000
  • Fortune 500 Rank: 245
  • Office Visit Expectations: 2 days/week
  • Workplace Policy: Hybrid
  • RTO Date: 02/01/2022

Ameriprise Financial

Ameriprise Financial has required employees to be in the office three days per week since 2021. But starting in September of 2025, the requirement moves up to four days.

  • Headquarters: Minneapolis, Minnesota
  • Global Headcount: 13,800
  • Fortune 500 Rank: 254
  • Office Visit Expectations: 4 days/week
  • Workplace Policy: Hybrid
  • RTO Date: 9/2/25

Ecolab

Ecolab requires employees to be in the office three days per week under its hybrid policy. The corporation will allow employees to continue to operate remotely up to 40 percent of the time, on average, depending upon their responsibilities.

  • Headquarters: St. Paul, Minnesota
  • Global Headcount: 48,000
  • Fortune 500 Rank: 269
  • Office Visit Expectations: 3 days/week
  • Workplace Policy: Hybrid
  • RTO Date: 4/4/22

Xcel Energy

Xcel Energy requires employees to be in the office three days per week under its hybrid policy.

  • Headquarters: Minneapolis, Minnesota
  • Global Headcount: 11,311
  • Fortune 500 Rank: 302
  • Office Visit Expectations: 3 days/week
  • Workplace Policy: Hybrid
  • RTO Date: 9/15/23

 

How Minnesota Compares To The Fortune 500

return to office workplace policies

When compared to our full Fortune 500 RTO dataset, Minnesota skews slightly more toward hybrid and flexibility.

Workplace Policy Type:

  • All 10 Minnesota companies are hybrid
  • Across the Fortune 500…
    • 84% are hybrid
    • 11% office-first
    • 5% remote-first

Office Expectations:

  • In Minnesota:
    • 6 of the ten companies (60%) require three days per week in-office.
    • Two (3M & Ameriprise) recently increased their requirement to four days per week.
    • None of the ten requires five days in office.
  • In the full Fortune 500 dataset (based on 177 known policies):
    • Like Minnesota, three days/week is the most common (40% of companies).
    • 14% of the Fortune 500 require five days per week in-office.

Overall, this places Minnesota’s largest employers on the more flexible end of the spectrum—still hybrid, but trending toward more structure in 2025.

 

Access Every Fortune 500 RTO Policy

Explore the full dataset of every known return-to-office policy in the Fortune 500.

Fortune 500 return to office

Or, click here to view a sample of the database for free.

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