Dell: Return to office or give up promotions

(NewsNation) — Dell is urging workers to return to the office, and those that don’t won’t be considered for promotions, the company told employees.

Dell has a hybrid work policy which was in place before the COVID-19 pandemic began in 2020. Those workers will be allowed to continue working on a hybrid schedule, but those who are fully remote will be required to switch to hybrid, with some in-office time included.

Starting in May, hybrid workers will be expected to be in office three days a week. While the company isn’t outright firing remote workers, it has warned that people who are remote will not be eligible for new roles or promotions unless they shift to hybrid.

Some employees have said the shift is confusing as Dell was previously a company that considered the work an employee produced more important the location they did the work from.

Workplace culture expert Jessica Kriegel said the shift came out of nowhere for many employees and noted that Dell spent more than $700 million in severance over the past year.

“Some employees feel that this may be a stealth layoff, a way to get people to leave without having to lay them off,” Kriegel told NewsNation.

Dell has admitted a return-to-office mandate is in part to “thin the herd,” as some employees may choose to quit rather than accept the trade-off Dell is offering.

The impact of the policy is also disproportionately affecting women, one source told Entrepreneur, who make up an “overwhelming” percentage of the remote workforce. Kriegel noted people with disabilities will also be hit harder by the policy.

“If you have an anxiety disorder, and it’s hard for you to go into the office, now, you’re not going to be able to do that without a job advancement opportunity. That’s very hard,” she said. “Working from home was the great equalizer.”

Dell isn’t the only company to backtrack on remote policies and attempt to enforce a return to office as lawmakers worry about the impact of remote work on economies built around office work and commercial real estate.

Such policies are unpopular with workers who bear the additional time and cost of commuting to work, even if they have proved they can perform their job from home.