Patreon is upping its RTO mandate after laying off 20% of staff

Patreon CEO Jack Conte. Amy Price/SXSW Conference & Festivals via Getty Images/SOPA Images. Patreon slashed its workforce by 20% last week — and wants its remaining staffers to come into the office more.The company informed workers that it is increasing its return-to-office (RTO) requirement from two to three days a week for staff who commute to Patreon's three offices in New York City, San Francisco, and Porto, Portugal, a company spokesperson confirmed to Business Insider.Staffers at the company, which runs a platform where creators can sell memberships and offer subscriber-only perks to fans, learned of the change a day after a layoff round that affected 93 employees. The updated RTO policy will go into effect in the "coming months," the spokesperson said, and it will not affect workers already classified as remote employees."Since returning to two days a week in-office, we've been able to build stronger connections across the team," the Patreon spokesperson said. "We're making this change to spend more intentional in-person time together to continue strengthening the feeling of community and togetherness we have at Patreon."RTO has become a priority at many tech and media companies as executives look to revamp in-office culture following a multi-year pandemic hiatus. For example, Instagram asked its workers to begin coming into the office five days a week in February. TikTok, which last year required five days of in-office attendance for select teams like e-commerce, is also looking to bring more workers back in person this year.Patreon's implementation of RTO, which it refers to internally as "Time Together," had been relatively lenient, one former staffer said.Patreon requires employees to be present on 75% of in-office days, meaning they could skip out once every four days. Some employees have also been classified as remote employees even if they live within commuting distance, and are exempt from RTO.Patreon's in-office push comes at a moment when it's flattening its organization to refocus teams on its top priorities, and evolve key aspects of its operations to make the company "faster at adapting to change," CEO Jack Conte said in a memo last week."AI has fundamentally transformed the tech industry, the pace of change has never been more intense, and I expect it to get even faster," Conte wrote, noting that Patreon would need "increased agility" to compete.Patreon's desire to move faster comes as competition heats up in its core creator-subscription business. Newsletter platforms like Substack and Beehiiv are signing up writers and podcasters in droves, while large social apps like TikTok and YouTube are rolling out paid, exclusive membership programs for creators.Have a tip? Contact Sydney via email at sbradley@businessinsider.com or Signal at @sydneykbradley.123. Contact Dan at dwhateley@businessinsider.com or Signal at @danwhateley.94. Use a personal email address, a nonwork WiFi network, and a nonwork device; here's our guide to sharing information securely. Read next Sydney Bradley has been covering media and tech for Business Insider since 2020. She breaks news and writes extensively about Instagram and Facebook, as well as new platforms and startups shaping social media, dating apps, the creator economy, venture capital, and tech culture.Sydney's reporting on Instagram was nominated as a finalist for the 2021 Los Angeles Press Club National Entertainment Journalism Awards.She graduated from the University of Virginia with a degree in American Studies. You can follow Sydney's work on LinkedIn, Twitter, and Instagram at @sydneykbradley.Have a tip? You can also contact her via encrypted messaging app Signal (@sydneykbradley.123), encrypted email (sydneykbradley@proton.me), or standard email (sbradley@businessinsider.com). Use a personal email address, a nonwork WiFi network, and a nonwork device; here’s our guide to sharing information securely.Selected stories:Young founders are going viral modeDeath isn't the end: Meta patented an AI that lets you keep posting from beyond the graveDating apps are betting millions that AI will convince you to fall back in love with themHitting the social media jackpot is harder than ever — and it's changing the creator economyBig Tech's AI obsession is rattling creatorsNew startups race to bring back the 'old internet' vibes of the 2000sThe mysterious demise of a $1 billion social shopping appThe loneliness epidemic has given rise to a new crop of startups aiming to help people connect in real lifeIt's not just you — no one is posting on social media anymoreHow Instagram's unpredictable changes are giving influencers whiplashWhy YouTube subscriber counts have become an unreliable 'vanity metric' in the era of short videoInside the week that changed Facebook forever Creator economy Exclusive