Gamingdeputy reported on March 17 that Dell has been implementing a hybrid office culture for more than ten years, well before the outbreak of the epidemic.
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“Dell values work results, not where you work,” a veteran Dell employee who has worked remotely for more than a decade told Business Insider last month. “At that time, about 10% to 15% of employees on each team were working remotely.”
This flexibility allows employees to cope with major life changes and maintain career stability, and has helped Dell remain on the Disability Equality Index Best Places to Work list since 2018.
However, Dell introduced a strict return-to-office policy in February this year and took punitive measures against employees who wanted to work from home.
Under the new policy, starting in May, almost all employees will be classified as “hybrid” or “telecommuting” workers. Internal documents show that “hybrid office” employees are required to work in the company's designated office at least 39 days per quarter, which is equivalent to about three days per week.
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If employees want to continue working from home, they can choose to work fully remotely. But there are drawbacks to this option: Employees who work fully remotely will not be considered for promotions and will not be able to change jobs.
“It’s important for remote team members to understand the trade-offs: Career advancement, including applying for new positions within the company, will require team members to be reclassified as hybrid,” the memo reads.
“The whole company is complaining about this privately,” said one Dell employee who works with top managers. The employee spoke on condition of anonymity out of fear of retaliation.
“Face-to-face communication coupled with flexible working methods are critical to driving innovation and value differentiation,” Dell said in a statement.
Gamingdeputy noted that this approach runs counter to Dell founder and CEO Michael Dell’s previous support for remote workers. In 2021, he told CRN Magazine that the company's expansion of a remote work culture is “absolutely here to stay.” The billionaire later took to LinkedIn to criticize companies forcing employees to return to the office: “If you rely on forced overtime in traditional offices to create collaboration and provide a sense of belonging within your organization, you're doing it wrong.”
As of 2022, the company has not changed its stated policy: “Dell Technologies' long-term goal is to have 60% of its employees working remotely on any given day.”
But according to CRN, in March 2023, Dell began to change its policy and issued a new mandate requiring all employees within an hour's drive of the office to come to the company at least three days a week.
Professor Cary Cooper, an organizational psychologist and co-founder of the National Forum on Workplace Health and Wellbeing, said Dell's move could be a “panic response to a weakening world economy”. Cooper also said there's also a “herd mentality” at work, with tech companies trying to copy what everyone else is doing rather than sticking with what works for them.