Sherwin-Williams Ends Hybrid Work Model, Forcing Workers Back to the Office Next Year

The article is published as part of an exclusive content-sharing agreement with neo-trans.blog.

During and after the COVID-19 pandemic, Sherwin-Williams (SHW) executives allowed the company’s office workers to either work from home, the office or a hybrid mix. That continued during the “Building Our Future” planning and construction of the new Downtown Cleveland headquarters and research center in suburban Brecksville. Until now.

Yesterday, employees throughout the global coatings giant received an e-mail from SHW Chair, President and Chief Executive Officer Heidi Petz informing them of the company’s new return to the office policy.

“Today, I am announcing that effective January 1, 2026, all Continental U.S., Hawaii, Alaska and Canada employees assigned to company offices will return to work in the office five days a week,” Petz wrote. “The long-term plan is to apply this change to all office employees globally.”

The news was discussed by Sherwin-Williams employees on online forums such as Reddit. Many expressed dissatisfaction with the announcement. Some even threatened to quit working for the company.

One commenter noted that it came after the company finalized voluntary separation agreements with employees, first reported here at NEOtrans, and after an employee survey was conducted. Others said they felt the new policy would reverse prior commitments.

“We received this email around noon today stating 100 percent RTO (return to office) after previous communication stated they are committed to a hybrid work place,” said another office worker who spoke to NEOtrans on the condition of anonymity. “Obviously people are pissed.”

The return-to-work policy also may have impacts on the capacity of SHW’s new facilities. NEOtrans first reported two weeks ago that 900 research workers would migrate in waves starting Sept. 22 from labs and offices throughout Greater Cleveland into the new Morikis Global Technology Center, 6701 Miller Rd., in Brecksville.

Downtown, moving SHW headquarters’ offices and their 3,500 employees from the historic Landmark Office Tower and newer Skylight Office Tower into the new skyscraper has no official timetable yet. But it won’t start until October, at the earliest.

And some workers are wondering if SHW has enough space for everyone in the new 36-story office tower west of Public Square, and especially its 920-space parking garage off West 3rd Street, per the company’s return-to-office policy.

“They (SHW executives) commented that the building and parking size was sized for a hybrid workplace,” said the anonymous office worker. “Now the parking garage clearly won’t be large enough to fit everyone.”

However, the company has built a 314-space surface parking lot to the west of the headquarters tower, plus hundreds of additional parking spaces are north and west of the garage and nearby. And, the Greater Cleveland Regional Transit Authority’s main bus hub is at Public Square; its central rail transit station is next to it in Tower City Center.

Petz’ e-mail appears below, reprinted in its entirety although broken up into more paragraphs than the original.

Sherwin-Williams Return to Office email; July 17, 2025

Our company has a long history of success which is founded in our strong culture of collaboration, connection, meaningful relationships and winning together. I believe the strength of our people, acting together as ONE SHW, is one of our greatest advantages.

No one in our industry has the talent, the tenure and the determination of our teams. We remain committed to ensuring our customers win every day, and as a result, driving long-term sustainable growth for Sherwin-Williams.

Talent is at the core of our strategy, and it is the first of our six Enterprise Priorities. As a result, our first commitment is to you, our employees, where we have and we will continue to focus on career opportunities, employee engagement, peer-to-peer connectivity and collaboration — with a goal of providing an environment where everyone belongs and can thrive.

Part of what makes our company so unique is our ability to provide both stability and flexibility as an employee. We remain committed to fostering a culture that is committed to both.

I believe that one of my greatest responsibilities is finding the right balance that enables our company and our people to continue winning over the long term, and importantly, to ensure we evolve together as we look forward to finding new ways to better serve our customers.

After careful consideration of multiple factors, and with the support of the executive leadership team, I have decided that the time is right to update our global flexible workplace policy.

Today, I am announcing that effective January 1, 2026, all Continental U.S., Hawaii, Alaska and Canada employees assigned to company offices will return to work in the office five days a week.

While this policy change applies initially to the Continental U.S., Hawaii, Alaska and Canada employees, the long-term plan is to apply this change to all office employees globally.

We are making this announcement now to provide you with enough time to adjust to the new policy before it takes effect next January.

I recognize returning to the office full-time is a meaningful change. I also recognize flexibility is important, and we will continue to offer several flexible work options to support our workforce in managing their employment and personal obligations.

Key changes to the policy include:

• Employees will receive a bank of 12 days per year than can be used as planned remote working days.
• The Remote Day bank will be granted on a calendar year basis and may be used in half-day increments.
• No more than two (2) Remote Days may be used in any given month. Those two (2) days may be consecutive.
• Remote days may be used on days preceding or following a vacation, holiday or other time away.
• Unused Remote Days expire at the end of the calendar year for which they are granted and do not rollover. Unused Remote Days will not be paid out for any purposes.
• Remote Days are required to be scheduled/accounted for using our timekeeping system.
• Office-based employees are defined as any employee who is assigned to a physical office as opposed to working completely remote, on a production line or in the field.

You can find information on policy updates and what remains unchanged here (embedded links not transferred), as well as FAQs here. Your HR leaders will continue to provide you with appropriate updates in the days and weeks ahead, and the fully updated policy will be available later this year.

We will also continue to provide employees with a wide variety of health, education, development and other related benefits as part of our Total Rewards offering.

I am confident that when we come together, we build even strong relationships with each other and with colleagues, leaders and mentors. We gain better visibility in the day-to-day activities of our business as things change swiftly around us, and we create more opportunities for growth, coaching and career advancement.

This is a moment for us to recognize that we have been through a lot as a business, and this is about moving ahead, driving stronger engagement, better collaboration, accelerating innovation and doing things that only Sherwin-Williams can do to support and serve our customers.

Thank you for everything you do to help make Sherwin-Williams a great company and a great place to work. Because of you, we continue to win. Because of you, we continue to invest when others in our industry do not. There is no other team I would rather lead, and I look forward to building on our culture of winning together.

Regards,
Heidi G. Petz
Chair, President and Chief Executive Officer

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