Only 22 weeks of face-to-face work per year

• JM Smucker instituted an RTO policy that required workers to be on site only during 22 “core” weeks.
• During those weeks, the company’s campus in Orrville, Ohio, was 70-80% occupied, according to the Wall Street Journal.
• The Smucker model seems to be popular with workers, who can live anywhere as long as they come back for a “core” week.

Some companies are getting very serious about bringing employees back to the office.

Amazon CEO Andy Jassy just told employees that the commitment to return to the office three days a week is “passed.” Last week, Goldman Sachs told more employees to start working five days a week. Earlier this month, work-from-home darling Zoom asked employees to come into the office two days a week.

While some of these tasks are met with resistance from employees, there are some bright spots in the battle to return to the office. JM Smucker, the company behind a line of well-known products like Smucker’s Jam, Jif Peanut Butter and Uncrustables, has implemented a novel return-to-work policy that workers seem to like.

According to a recent report by The Wall Street Journal, the company has been trying to bring employees back to its Orrville, Ohio, headquarters during 22 “core” weeks each year since January 2022. According to the Wall Street Journal, core weeks are typically held every other week, except in July and December, when the company only holds core weeks once a month.

The plan wasn’t initially popular with employees, but today, Smucker’s home office is running between 70 and 80 percent utilization during the most core weeks, according to the Wall Street Journal. The Wall Street Journal said many employees typically schedule meetings, team lunches and dinners during core weeks, and company leaders often reserve meetings that require “deep focus” for these times.

“The goal of this model is to provide flexibility for our employees, facilitate in-person connections and drive business results,” a company spokesperson told Insider via email. “We are committed to continually evaluating this model to ensure it continues to serve our needs the needs of our employees and the business; however, we are pleased with the results to date.”

The company has about 6,000 employees worldwide, but the “core” week program targets the 1,300 corporate employees at its Orville headquarters. During these core weeks, employees are required to be on the Orville campus at least six days a month, or 25 percent of the time, the Journal said. In addition to the required time, they can be stationed anywhere in the United States.

The Wall Street Journal noted that while many employees continue to drive to the Orville headquarters from nearby cities, the program has also spawned a group of “super commuters” who live across the country. The Wall Street Journal said the company typically publishes its core weekly schedule a year in advance to give employees time to plan office visits.

Nicole Massey, vice president of marketing for the company’s consumer foods division, lives in San Francisco but commutes to Orville within weeks, according to the Wall Street Journal.

“I travel a lot more,” Macy told the Journal, “but I really feel like I’m at home, and a lot more than if I were working for a company in the Bay Area and commuting three days a week.”

There are still a handful of salaried staff, such as food scientists who need specialized equipment, who work five days a week. “Wall Street Journal” said. The Wall Street Journal said about 300 employees in the company’s manufacturing unit, which makes jams, jellies and ice cream ingredients, also did not participate in Core Week.

Mark Smucker, the company’s chief executive and a fifth-generation member of the founding family, commutes most days from his home in Akron, Ohio, to the Orville campus, a 40-minute commute, according to the Wall Street Journal. “Relationships are built between meetings, not during them,” he told the Wall Street Journal.

Do you think your company’s return-to-office policy is effective or failing? We want to hear from you. Contact reporter Lakshmi Varanasi lvaranasi@businessinsider.com.