from Hacker News

CEOs at Disney and Starbucks demand that workers start returning to the office

by dekimir on 1/16/23, 2:34 AM with 35 comments

  • by dopylitty on 1/16/23, 4:46 AM

    Missing in a lot of discussion about “return to office” is that someone (maybe these same CEOs) had made offices completely intolerable even before the pandemic by introducing the “open plan” office layout where you can’t work because the constant noise makes it impossible and you have no personal space and no privacy.

    Small wonder workers don’t want to return to the office when they’re treated like chickens in an industrial henhouse there.

  • by bluedino on 1/16/23, 2:56 AM

    I don't know about Starbucks, but there's plenty of resentment among manufacturing workers that their white-collar counterparts get to sit at home

  • by dekimir on 1/16/23, 2:34 AM

    "There is simply no way that true collective creativity can be consistently generated in not-so-splendid isolation.”

    "I think every successful CEO, including myself, is tired of all the whining"

  • by jmathai on 1/16/23, 4:54 AM

    From the article - “While an agreement had been reached last year to work one to two days per week in the office, badge swipes indicated many employees “are not meeting their minimum promise,””

    Reminded me of this quote from Office Space.

    “Look, we want you to express yourself, okay? Now if you feel that the bare minimum is enough, then okay. But some people choose to wear more and we encourage that, okay? You do want to express yourself, don't you?”

    I mean, employers are free to make whatever policies they want and employees are free to stay or leave. I think things have their own way of normalizing.

  • by bitsavers on 1/16/23, 2:55 AM

    https://www.cnbc.com/2023/01/11/apple-and-meta-dropped-off-g... After several delays due to Covid, Apple hammered down on their return to office plans, requiring employees to be in the office three days a week effective Sept. 5, 2022.

  • by cratermoon on 1/16/23, 2:37 AM

    Soon: CEOs at Disney and Starbucks struggle with understaffing, inability to attract workers

  • by matt-attack on 1/16/23, 3:06 PM

    Well for Disney in particular, I see this as just a logical first move before layoffs. If you can drive a good bunch of employees to quit, then that's all the fewer layoffs you need to perform in the coming months.