Patreon mandates 3 office days for US and Portugal staff in coming months

Patreon will require office-assigned employees in New York, San Francisco and Porto, Portugal, to work in person three days a week, up from two.

Three-day rule rolls out in coming months

The tighter return-to-office policy will take effect in the coming months, though Patreon hasn’t published a specific start date. It applies to employees assigned to the company’s offices in New York, San Francisco and Porto, a spokesperson told Business Insider.

Staff must attend 75% of required office days. In practice, that allows employees to miss roughly one of every four scheduled in-person days while remaining compliant.

The change follows layoffs affecting about 20% of Patreon’s workforce. The company said the cuts were intended to improve agility and efficiency, Business Insider reported.

Remote contracts remain exempt

Employees formally classified as fully remote won’t be covered by the three-day mandate. That exemption includes some workers who live within commuting distance of a Patreon office but hold remote status.

The catch for nomadic employees is the HR classification, not their current location. Someone working abroad while assigned to San Francisco, New York or Porto remains subject to the attendance policy, while an employee with a formal remote contract remains exempt.

Office-assigned expats may need to live within practical commuting distance or absorb more frequent travel costs. Workers reviewing a possible relocation can compare the three office destinations through Stamped Nomad’s country and destination guides, but those guides don’t replace confirmation of employment status with Patreon.

Employees should confirm their designation

Patreon hasn’t disclosed a public process for changing an office-based role to remote status. Employees seeking an exemption would need to discuss reclassification with a manager or human resources before the policy takes effect.

For expats, any change in work location may affect immigration records or permits tied to a listed workplace. The immediate step is to check whether the employment contract and HR system classify the position as office-assigned or fully remote, since that designation determines whether the three-day requirement applies.