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The headline refers to a September 12, 2023 Computerworld interview—not a current HP policy announcement. Loretta Li-Sevilla, then HP’s head of Future of Work, Business Incubation & Design for Services, said a return to the pre-pandemic workplace was unlikely. HP’s reported model was flexible hybrid work: teams and managers decided when office presence added value, while technology and office design made either location workable.
What HP’s executive actually said
In the September 12, 2023 Computerworld interview, Li-Sevilla described a changed relationship between employers and employees. Her “no going back” language was a strategic view and prediction, not a binding promise that offices would disappear.
She organized HP’s approach around three ideas:
Mindset
Trust, flexibility, autonomy, equity, psychological safety, leadership behavior and policies were meant to replace the assumption that productivity requires everyone at assigned desks.
Toolset
Devices, collaboration systems, office spaces and amenities should let people move between home and office without losing capability or disadvantaging remote colleagues.
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Skillset
Upskilling, reskilling, career development, hiring for long-term potential and employee wellbeing were part of the workplace strategy—not separate from it.
HP’s reported hybrid policy in 2023
At the time of the interview, HP reportedly had no companywide requirement for a fixed number of office days. That did not mean every employee had identical freedom. Some teams designated meeting days, and HP said employees living near offices were coming in an average of roughly two to three days per week. Those figures described observed behavior, not a universal rule.
Attendance could vary by role and workstyle. An engineer or specialist whose work depended on equipment or close collaboration might need more on-site time than a traveling salesperson or executive. The important distinction is between:
- a formal written corporate mandate;
- a team-level expectation;
- manager discretion;
- informal cultural pressure; and
- actual attendance.
“No mandate” rules out only the first category. Local offices, managers and promotion practices can still create practical expectations.
Why HP still wanted people in offices
Li-Sevilla said HP’s research found that employees and customers’ employees viewed offices as useful for collaboration, camaraderie, community and in-person connection. She did not claim that office attendance universally raises productivity. Her position was that productivity differs by person, so a single schedule is a poor fit.
That makes the office an intentional destination rather than the default location for every task. A commute is easier to justify when a team is doing work that is materially better together—such as relationship-building, complex planning, onboarding or hands-on activities—rather than holding routine video calls from a conference room.
What HP’s numbers showed—and what they did not
The interview cited figures from HP research. The article did not provide the survey’s sample size, field dates, question wording, geographic coverage or independent audit, so these numbers should not be treated as representative statistics for all workers.
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| Figure | How to interpret it |
|---|---|
| 77% | HP said this share of its employees liked the idea of hybrid work. |
| 22% | HP said this share of hybrid workers felt they were thriving in their environment. |
| Nearly 9 in 10 | HP said workers rated appropriate technology highly as a reason to come into the office. |
| 66% | HP said workers wanted to work for an environmentally responsible company. |
| 62% | HP said IT decision-makers found their jobs harder and faster amid distributed work and broader business pressures. |
The figures explain HP’s reasoning; they do not prove that hybrid work is preferred by every workforce or that equipment alone increases productivity.
How HP redesigned the office
HP’s Palo Alto headquarters was described as renovated for hybrid work. The reported changes included:
- hot-desking instead of permanently assigned desks;
- consistent equipment at workstations;
- docking displays and built-in webcams;
- communal areas for collaboration and community; and
- a one-cable setup intended to make changing locations easier.
Hot-desking can improve space utilization and standardize equipment, but it creates practical requirements: secure storage, desk-booking, cleaning, ergonomic consistency, accessible reserved seating and support for employees with specialized equipment. A predictable workstation may be essential for some disabled employees or people handling sensitive material.
Why technology was central
HP argued that employees would be more willing to attend for purposeful collaboration when the office worked at least as well as home. Its reported strategy included high-performance notebooks with long battery life, devices matched to workstyles, noise cancellation, attendee tracking, standardized desk equipment, remote support and IT telemetry for distributed fleets.
HP’s 2022 acquisition of Poly was presented as part of that collaboration strategy, expanding its position in cameras, headsets, video bars and conferencing software. Li-Sevilla also described AI as an augmentation tool: features such as audio noise cancellation and attendee tracking could make remote and in-person participants feel more as if they shared a room. That is HP’s view, not a guarantee that AI will replace sound meeting design, trained managers or equitable participation.
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What a genuinely equitable hybrid meeting requires
- Remote attendees must hear side conversations and see shared content.
- Whiteboards and physical materials should be captured digitally.
- Office participants should not cluster around one poorly placed laptop.
- Meeting hosts should give remote participants explicit roles and decision access.
- Camera, microphone and captioning choices should support accessibility.
The unresolved costs and risks of flexibility
Inconsistent expectations
Different managers can apply the same flexible policy differently. Employees may be uncertain about when presence is expected, and informal visibility can influence assignments or promotion even when the written policy is neutral.
Attendance is not an outcome
Occupancy counts show how many desks are used, not whether collaboration, retention, productivity or wellbeing improved. Employers should connect any attendance target to a measurable business purpose.
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Hot-desk and security problems
Shared workstations require controls for device storage, confidential documents, identity access, patching, firmware, cleaning and secure disposal. Distributed work also increases the need for reliable remote support, equipment recovery and clear rules for personally owned devices. Monitoring should improve reliability without becoming intrusive surveillance.
Unequal personal circumstances
Caregiving, disability, health conditions and transportation constraints can make nominally optional attendance more burdensome. A fair policy needs an accommodation process and should audit whether physical presence is being rewarded indirectly.
The Tool Desk
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Li-Sevilla connected workplace expectations with product design. HP said it used recycled or alternative materials in PCs, used recycled or sustainably sourced packaging, and offered device recovery with pickup, recycling and a certificate of destruction. HP also claimed it had more EPEAT Gold and Silver Personal Systems products globally than any other PC vendor at the time. That comparative statement is HP’s assertion and should not be read as an independently verified ranking without checking the relevant EPEAT database.
What changed by 2026—and what has not been established
HP continued investing in hybrid-work products. Its 2026 ISE announcement described new Poly personal audio and meeting-room products, while a June 2026 InfoComm announcement described Poly room-compute systems. Those announcements demonstrate a continuing commercial focus on hybrid collaboration; they do not establish HP’s employee attendance rules.
The available evidence does not verify whether HP’s 2023 mandate status, attendance patterns, executive structure or workplace strategy remained unchanged through 2026. Any current-policy statement would require a current HP source or direct confirmation.
A practical framework for employers and employees
- Define the purpose of presence. Identify work that measurably benefits from being together instead of setting attendance for its own sake.
- Publish team norms. State expected collaboration days, decision rights, exceptions and how schedule changes are handled.
- Equalize the tools. Standardize core devices, audio, cameras, displays, support and accessibility at home and in the office.
- Design remote-first meetings. Make every participant visible and audible, and document decisions in shared systems.
- Measure outcomes. Track delivery, customer results, retention, development access and inclusion—not desk occupancy alone.
- Check for proximity bias. Compare assignments, promotions and information access for employees who attend less often.
- Maintain IT controls. Keep an accurate device inventory, enforce updates and identity controls, and provide secure shipping, recovery and remote support.
Bottom line
HP’s “no going back” claim was a 2023 argument that the pre-pandemic office should no longer be the automatic operating model. It described flexible hybrid work built around purposeful presence, capable technology and trust—not a fully remote policy and not proof that office attendance improves every employee’s performance. In 2026, HP’s product announcements show that it still sells into the hybrid-work market, but they do not prove that the 2023 employee policy is still in force.
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