Remote-first fintech giant Revolut is making the office compulsory for new Gen Z grads—and they’ll earn flexibility like their peers after one year

Revolut is pulling back its remote-first perks for grads in 2027—but those who succeed in the program have a shot at the digital nomad lifestyle.

After five years of offering staff work-from-anywhere perks, Revolut is pulling back on its “remote-first” policy—but just for some young hires. Now, the London-based company will require fresh-faced graduate workers to come into the office at least three days a week. 

For years, the business has endorsed envy-inducing flexibility benefits, like allowing staffers to log in from abroad 120 days a year to “explore new cultures while staying productive and connected.” The company says it wants employees to clock in where they work best—whether it be a foreign city, office cubicle, or living room table. 

However, starting in 2027, any new interns or graduate employees joining Revolut’s Talent Programmes will have to show up to an office for a majority of the workweek. That means they won’t be able to spend weeks working online while jet-setting from one country to the next, like the class of 2026 could. 

But it’s not a complete ban: talent who successfully complete the 12-month graduate program will move onto the company’s typical remote-first contracts.

Young workers need ‘collaboration and mentoring’ from in-office work

The rollback is in lockstep with a broader corporate push to bring young employees back into the office, as leaders argue they can build skills, forge connections, and accelerate their careers. 

Revolut believes that coming into the office and having that face-to-face experience is critical to the development of its budding professionals. 

“Revolut operates a remote-first model across the world,” a Revolut spokesperson wrote in a statement to Fortune. “We also recognise that the early stages of a career benefit from in-person collaboration and mentoring.”

About 300 graduates and interns joined Revolut this year, and will be among the last in the programs to choose whether to work-from-home, in the office, or in a faraway city. A Revolut spokesperson confirmed that “for all other employees, our remote-first policy is unchanged.”

CEOs who say that young workers need to be in the office

Many white-collar professionals are yearning for the perks of work-from-home life. During the remote years of the COVID-19 shutdown, they lived in their pajamas, folded laundry during meetings, and walked their dogs between calls. But it didn’t take long for staffers to be dragged back once offices reopened; by October 2024, 75% of workers were already required to be in the office a certain number of days per week. And business leaders are doubling down on the idea that office attendance is essential for career growth.

JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon has been particularly outspoken on in-person work, mandating a five-day RTO order last year. The billionaire Wall Street leader said that employers who stick behind remote schedules are falling behind—and young workers in particular could be left in the dust. Dimon believes that the workplace bolsters an “apprenticeship system” for budding professionals. Being at the office is a pivotal experience in skills development that for skill development that wouldn’t be possible clocking in from the couch. 

“We saw people when they weren’t coming in, younger kids kind of being left behind,” Dimon said in a 2026 interview with CBS Evening News. “They weren’t developing their EQ as much. They didn’t have as many friends. They didn’t have much knowledge. They weren’t being assigned stuff.” 

Rich Handler, the CEO of investment bank Jefferies, also recognizes the value of in-person work. Back in 2023—right when companies were bringing down the RTO hammer—the business leader argued that workers who go into the office will get a career boost by demonstrating their value to bosses. And as companies have been shedding staffers after their post-pandemic hiring frenzy, it could have a big impact. The billionaire said that choosing to go in or not could mean the difference between simply holding down a job and building a career.

And Scott Galloway, an NYU Stern marketing professor and host of The Prof G Pod podcast, agrees that workers are being held back by remote work. He said that working so hard in his 20s and 30s may have lost his hair and his marriage, but it was “worth it” in the end. And Gen Z have the best shot at moving up in their careers when they go into the office to grind it out, Galloway asserts. 

“You should never be at home,” Galloway said at the Wall Street Journal’s 2023 CEO Council Summit. “That’s what I tell young people. Home is for seven hours of sleep, and that’s it. The amount of time you spend at home is inversely correlated to your success professionally and romantically. You need to be out of the house.”

This story was originally featured on Fortune.com