Tech giant Dell (NYSE: DELL) has announced a strict new return-to-office mandate that has left many employees frustrated and concerned about their future with the company.
For over a decade, Dell had embraced a hybrid working model, allowing teams to have up to 15% of members working remotely without issue. This flexibility enabled staff to maintain their careers through major life changes and helped Dell earn recognition for disability inclusion.
However, a recent internal memo outlined that starting in May, nearly all Dell employees will be reclassified as either “hybrid” or “remote.” Hybrid workers must report to an approved office for at least 39 days per quarter, roughly three days per week. Employees can opt to remain fully remote, but they face a caveat: they will be ineligible for promotions or role changes within Dell.
“For remote team members, it is important to understand the trade-offs: Career advancement, including applying to new roles in the company, will require a team member to reclassify as hybrid onsite,” the memo states, according to a report from Business Insider.
The policy shift represents a sharp turnaround from founder and CEO Michael Dell’s previous vocal support for remote work during the pandemic. At the time, he said the expanded work-from-home approach was “absolutely here to stay” and criticized forced returns to office as doing things “wrong.”
Organizational experts suggest the pivot may be a “panicked reaction” driven by economic pressures, despite the lack of evidence that in-office work boosts productivity. There are also concerns Dell is simply following industry trends rather than its own proven remote work success.
Multiple Dell staffers have spoken out anonymously, expressing frustration at being “forced” to either stall career growth by remaining remote, or regularly commute to offices despite logistical challenges like lengthy drives or disabilities impacting travel ability.
One employee hired remotely during the pandemic lamented potentially becoming “the low man on the totem pole, first on the chopping block” for workforce reductions if remaining remote.
Dell isn’t the first company to walk back on its flexible working policy. Around the same time last year, Apple (Nasdaq: AAPL) announced that it would begin tracking office attendance, while Google (Nasdaq: GOOG) did the same thing in June.
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