Dell sent staffers into a panic last week by mandating they return to the office five days a week – on just a few days’ notice, according to a report.
The Round Rock, Texas-based tech company sent its sales team a memo on Sept. 26, a Thursday, mandating employees return to full-time, in-person work starting that Monday, according to a Business Insider report.
“The expectation is that ALL Global Sales team members who can work from a Dell office be on-site five days a week, regardless of role,” the internal memo from sales chiefs Bill Scannell and John Byrne said, according to BI.
Parents ran into roadblocks as they scrambled to find last-minute childcare on Thursday night and discovered that after-school programs were already fully booked.
“The biggest thing that I saw from just being in the office that day was parents freaking out,” a Dell sales employee told BI. “It’s one thing to already have childcare set up and already having to pay that crazy amount, but having a weekend to figure it out …”
Scannell and Byrne acknowledged in the memo that workers “may need some time to make new arrangements,” but they did not provide details or specific accommodations that could be made, the report said.
“We continually evolve our business so we’re set up to deliver the best innovation, value and service to our customers and partners,” a Dell spokesperson told The Post. “That includes more in-person connection to drive market leadership.”
Dell is the latest major company to force its employees to resume in-office work – echoing mandates this year from companies like Amazon, Salesforce and PricewaterhouseCoopers.
But Dell’s mandate comes as a particular shock to its salespeople, who were told in February they could choose between hybrid or remote work.
The hybrid policy took effect in May. Hybrid staffers needed to be in the office about three days a week.
Though the software giant tracked employee attendance, the hybrid policy was fairly flexible.
Many employees left the office at lunchtime and worked from home the rest of the day, Dell workers told BI.
One Dell salesperson told BI they started searching for childcare options on Thursday night, but found programs were already filled for the year.
“They have to have all these finalized before the year starts, and the next enrollment isn’t until December or even when summer starts,” the employee said. “I’m on a waiting list, and I don’t have an option to put these kids in full time.”
Two other Dell employees said they were facing the same problem while trying to find childcare.
Another Dell employee said they used to leave the office at lunchtime to help their partner manage school pick-up times. They said their managers had been flexible and their productivity had not fallen since switching to hybrid work.
The worker discussed their concerns about the in-office mandate with managers and Dell’s Human Resources department, who told the worker to use PTO when they could not work during work hours.
“It wasn’t clarified if I can log back in at home after or if I’m expected to come back,” the employee said.
Dell staffers told BI the office and its parking lots were packed one week into the policy.
Employees said they were worried about running through their PTO while trying to balance the new mandate.
“If we run out of that PTO, then we’re facing disciplinary actions,” one worker said. “It’s very disheartening. It makes me really not trust the company.”
Multiple employees said they had heard from managers that the policy would be rolled out to other departments, but they were unsure when.
One Dell worker said a senior leader told them last week that the return-to-office mandate might be required “because that’s what Amazon is doing.”
Amazon CEO Andy Jassy issued a full-time, return-to-office mandate a week before Dell’s policy.
But Amazon staffers have until January to make the change.
The in-person mandate is an effort on Amazon’s part to foster collaboration seen pre-pandemic, making it easier for teammates to “learn, model, practice, and strengthen our culture,” Jassy said in a note.
Some 91% of Amazon workers are dissatisfied with the mandate and a whopping 73% said they are considering looking for another job, according to a survey conducted by professional social network Blind.
Amazon may be viewing the uproar as a success, as some have speculated the mandate is an effort to reduce headcount without issuing widespread layoffs.
