WeWork Implements New Dress Code, Remote Work Rules
The workspace provider's new mandates for professional attire and limited remote days reflect a pivot to increased oversight.
Updated on Oct. 30, 2026 in Remote Work
Live Poll
Do you believe mandatory dress codes are necessary to maintain a professional and trustworthy workplace culture?
WeWork CEO John Santora has implemented a new professional dress code alongside a policy permitting employees to work from home one day per week. These shifts follow the company's emergence from Chapter 11 bankruptcy and a streak of eight consecutive quarters of EBITDA profitability.
Why it matters
The changes reflect a broader operational pivot under new leadership to restore corporate discipline and decorum after a period of financial volatility. For business owners, these adjustments demonstrate a management attempt to balance traditional office cultural expectations with modern flexible labor requirements.
WeWork reported approximately $2.3 billion in revenue for 2025. This performance follows a dramatic historical valuation drop from $47 billion in 2019 to $8 billion.
The players
John Santora
The CEO of WeWork who previously spent 47 years at real estate services firm Cushman and Wakefield.
WeWork
A provider of workspace rentals that leases and refurbishes office properties for businesses.
The details
CEO John Santora, who joined the firm in 2024 following a 47-year tenure at Cushman and Wakefield, instituted the new policies to foster trust and professional decorum. The dress code update mandates more formal attire in shared workspaces, while the one-day remote allowance aims to acknowledge personal employee commitments. These measures operate as an attempt to stabilize the firm's workspace rental business model post-bankruptcy.
Timeline
2010: WeWork was founded.
2019: Company valuation fell from $47 billion to $8 billion.
2024: John Santora assumed the role of CEO.
2025: The company recorded $2.3 billion in revenue.
Market Landscape
These policy shifts mark a departure from the company's previous culture, following the firm's restructuring after the WeWork Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing. The current measures represent an attempt to stabilize operations following significant volatility in the workspace rental market.
Owners should monitor whether institutionalizing dress codes and limiting remote flexibility yields improved consistency in shared service environments. Operators should evaluate their own culture benchmarks as they balance the need for professional office norms against competitive talent demands.
The takeaway
The move suggests a shift toward more traditional office management to reinforce stability after a period of intense financial restructuring. Business leaders should track the company's progress toward its projected fourth consecutive quarter of cash-flow profitability as a signal of successful turnaround.
Further reading
For more on managing distributed teams, see the Remote Work section.
Source note: This article includes information reported by MoneyControl.
Live Poll
Do you believe mandatory dress codes are necessary to maintain a professional and trustworthy workplace culture?
