At Dell, forget your promotion if you want to work from home

In a memo sent out to its employees, Dell said: “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 tech major was known for its workplace culture. Employees said that the company had a hybrid policy for more than a decade, long before the Covid pandemic unleashed. A senior Dell employee said that the company had so far only claimed about the work and not the location. He said around 10-15 percent were working remotely. Policies like that helped the company find a place on the list of ‘Best Place to Work for Disability Equality Index’ since 2018.

Since February, the tech firm started taking a stricter approach. It said that from May, almost all the employees will be marked as either ‘hybrid’ or ‘remote’. Those classified as hybrid will have to come to an approved office for at least 39 days in a quarter, which translates to three days a week, according to the report. Those opting for remote work will have to forego their career advancement, the memo said.

The development has sparked some discontent among the employees. Almost everyone is against the new policy and has been complaining behind closed doors, a senior Dell employee said.

This approach, however, differs completely from founder and CEO Michael Dell’s previous support for remote workers.