Dearborn — Robert Gardiner, an engineering manager in sales and marketing for Ford Motor Co., leaves his home in Ann Arbor to make his more than 30-minute commute to be at the automaker's Wagner Place office here at 7:30 a.m.

He's been coming into the office for three days a week, but starting this week, that'll increase to four as the Dearborn automaker ups the in-office requirements for its salaried workforce. Ford's not the only Michigan employer that has decreased remote work days in the years following the COVID-19 pandemic, as employers balance retaining and recruiting talent that desires lifestyle flexibility while maintaining control over the work being done, workforce development and communication flows.

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