UnitedHealth mandates more in-office time for Twin Cities hybrid workers

UnitedHealth Group says its Twin Cities-based hybrid employees must return to the office four days per week.

The shift fits with other recent return-to-office announcements from large Minnesota employers including Medtronic, Ameriprise, Target and the state of Minnesota.

The change for hybrid workers at UnitedHealth Group takes effect the week of July 7, according to information released Thursday by the Eden Prairie-based health care giant.

It’s the most public change for the company’s 19,000 in-state workers since long-time executive Stephen Hemsley returned last month to the CEO job.

“Fostering strong connections and in-person collaboration helps strengthen employee teams based in our Twin Cities offices to further enhance innovation and better coordinate the support we provide to the customers we are honored to serve,” the company said in a statement.

UnitedHealth Group is parent company to UnitedHealthcare, the nation’s largest health insurer, and a fast-growing health care services division called Optum.

The company has long championed flexibility in work locations, saying in its 2023 Sustainability Report that it eliminated about 8 million square feet of office space as more employees opted for remote and hybrid work options.

Primary operations in Minnesota are housed at the Optum corporate campus in Eden Prairie and UnitedHealthcare’s headquarters in Minnetonka.

When announcing in 2023 that the parent company’s headquarters office would shift from a building it leased in Minnetonka to Optum HQ in Eden Prairie, UnitedHealth Group referenced how the company needed less space as more work had moved outside of traditional offices since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.

“UnitedHealth Group offers many ways for our teams to structure how and where work gets done,” the company said in a statement at the time.

Employees in the Twin Cities have been working amid increased headquarters security following the killing last year of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson.

Median employee pay increased from $67,000 in 2023 to nearly $76,000 last year, largely due to a divestiture of United’s health care business in Brazil. The calculation includes annual compensation for part-time, per diem and certain global employees.

“Less than one-third of UnitedHealth Group’s U.S. employees are below the calculated median employee pay,” the company said in materials prepared for the annual UnitedHealth Group shareholder meeting this month.