All US bosses must turn up at an office or client site at least three days a week "no matter where they work now", according to a memo sent on 16 January.

Badge-in data will be used to "check who's there" and shared with bosses and HR, Senior Vice President John Granger wrote in the note.

Those working from home, except for staff with reasons such as health issues or military duty, who don't live near enough to travel to a site must move near an IBM office by the start of August, according to the memo.

Bosses who don't want to move and can't get a job that's allowed to be remote must "leave IBM", Granger wrote.

The move comes as IBM tries to boost its profits and morale after years of decline and layoffs. So forcing workers to attend dull management meetings should do it it.

The tech giant, which once let staff work from anywhere, has been forcing more workers to come to the office since 2017, when it started "co-locating" teams in a bid to improve collaboration and innovation. The policy has been controversial, with some staff quitting or suing the company over the change.

IBM is not alone in wanting to get workers back to the office after the pandemic. Other firms, such as Google, Apple and Amazon, have also announced plans to reduce remote work and bring staff back to their desks.

However, some workers are not happy with the idea, and prefer the flexibility and savings of working from home. Some experts have also warned that forcing workers to return to the office could hurt productivity, diversity and mental health.