Disney CEO Bob Iger returned to his position in November 2022 and has made several major changes since then.
Some of those changes have been well-received by Disney fans, such as free overnight parking at the hotels and the upcoming return of the Happily Ever After show in Magic Kingdom. However, one of his most recent announcements was a new rule for employees to return to the office for work (instead of working from home), and this is one change that has not been met with thunderous applause.
Bob Iger has announced that hybrid employees must return to the office for four days a week starting on March 1st, 2023. He sent the information in an email, stressing how important in-person collaboration is for the company.
In the email, Iger said, “As I’ve been meeting with teams throughout the company over the past few months, I’ve been reminded of the tremendous value in being together with the people you work with. As you’ve heard me say many times, creativity is the heart and soul of who we are and what we do at Disney. And in a creative business like ours, nothing can replace the ability to connect, observe, and create with peers that comes from being physically together, nor the opportunity to grow professionally by learning from leaders and mentors.”
Having hybrid or work-from-home employees seems to be a new standard at many companies since the COVID-19 pandemic made that shift a necessity. It appears that Disney is trying to break that model now that COVID-19 vaccination rates are high and hospitalization rates are low.
Disney employees are not happy with this new rule, according to The Washington Post. Employees have started a petition asking Iger to reconsider the mandate, and the petition already has over 2,300 signatures.
The employee petition “asks Iger to allow remote work for employees who want it, and to invest more heavily in technology and training to make collaboration and asynchronous work easier.” One section of the petition reads, “There is value in being together, but we also need to look forward and embrace new paradigms that add value.”
A requirement for employees to return for 4 days a week would be one of the most strict among big companies in the post-pandemic era, according to the Post. The employees have stated that this rule is “likely to have unintended consequences that cause long-term harm to the company” such as “forced resignations among some of our most hard-to-replace talent and vulnerable communities.” They also said that the rule could lead to “dramatically reducing productivity, output, and efficiency.”
Other concerns about the new rule are that it will “slow, or even reverse, [Disney’s] post-COVID recovery and growth by creating critical resource shortages and causing irreplaceable institutional knowledge loss.” Disney employees were reportedly not consulted on the plan for returning to office.
One Cast Member said, “I think everyone has adjusted really well to the flexibility at Disney that was rolled out during the pandemic. For that to all go away suddenly was really scary for a lot of people.”
Another commented, “Flexibility at Disney really felt like a fresh start. Now it feels like we’re moving backwards.”
Many large companies are requiring workers to return to the office, although the shift away from work-from-home standards is still slow going. Only recently did U.S. office occupancy break 50% of pre-pandemic levels. Some experts are predicting that hybrid and work-from-home positions are the new normal, and many employees prefer that flexibility.
Bob Iger’s new rule comes as Disney recently announced 7,000 job cuts in the company’s last earnings call as a cost-saving measure. This announcement and a general trend of layoffs at several other big companies may threaten the job security of employees.
We’ll continue to watch for an update on this situation, so stay tuned to AllEars for all the latest Disney news.
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What do you think of Bob Iger’s requirement for employees to return to office? Let us know in the comments.
These complaints are absurd and have entitlement written all over them. It just boggles my mind that these employees are upset that they have to show up (for a 4 day, short week), collaborate in person,and be productive to EARN their paycheck.
I applaud Mr. Iger for getting back to basics and demanding that his employees show up in person to work. If some disgruntled employees want to stay in their jammies at home, then quit! You won’t be missed with that work ethic.
This also did not sneak up on Disney corporate employees. The hybrid, remote work was always noted as temporary. Certainly understand those who escaped the high cost of living in SoCal and went East and kept the SoCal salary want to keep the differential, but creativity is suffering.
I could really support working from home if people actually “worked from home”. Ever since Covid broke out and many claimed to be working from home, all I’ve gotten were mostly half way answered emails generated after from 10:00 PM up until just before midnight. Most of which used the lame, “need more information” excuse for not taking any action when my original email included all the info required PLUS the required forms. It’s apparent to me that most people procrastinated until the last minute to do their work and churned thru the emails with bogus answers before midnight so that their work reports looked good for the day. Like the rest of the commenters here, I worked thru all this, not missing a day of work and not needing any “Covid relief” money. Sorry, Disney employees, IF you had have been productive working from home, I’m sure Disney and other companies would be glad to forgo all the office expenses and let you “Produce from Home”.
don’t like working for the company,then quit !
there are plenty of replacements waiting to work for the disney corporation.
I concur.
Agreed
I wonder how many people moved out of the area and now can’t commute anymore? A lot of folks used the pandemic as a reason to move too far out of their areas. The whole work from home thing was for safety, you still have to expect a bit if return to the office here, its a little unrealistic to think you can work remote fully
I completely agree 👍 with Mr. Iger. Disney’s main success comes from people on the job and not by isolated employees. Socializing among co-workers builds stronger and more successful job results.
It is unfortunate that people take for granted that instead of being laid off during the pandemic some were allowed to telework and keep there jobs. Now that the situation has been resolved it’s time to show appreciation and support their employer. To do otherwise would be “biting the hand that feeds you.”
these Castmembers have a job they need to get back in the office and do it like it should be done. Remind them of the 7000 other castmembers that are losing their jobs, and then if they dont want to come in Lay them off instead, and save one of the other castmembers jobs that would have been laid off.
Boo hoo you have to go back to your office. You enjoyed the flexibility Disney offered unlike my husband and kids worked EVERY SINGLE DAY during this BS. I applaud him for doing this.
This has to be the most ridiculous complaint I have ever seen. If someone doesn’t like their job, find another. My friend’s husband couldn’t wait to get back to the office. Disney employees really need to get out of their bubble and see how the rest of the world lives.
Right!