Dell tells employees to return to office or forego promotions

Dell has enforced a strict return-to-office (RTO) mandate, according to which remote employees will not be qualified for promotions or change of roles, starting May, finds a Business Insider report.

Dell’s change follows a broader trend among tech companies reverting to RTO post-pandemic despite earlier commitments to remote options.

Dell used to be pro-remote work
The tech company’s RTO policy is a bit controversial since the company prided itself on offering the remote work option for more than 10 years—well before the COVID-19 pandemic.

Dell CEO and founder Michael Dell stated in a 2022 LinkedIn post that before 2020, 65% of the company’s workers were already working remotely at least one day per week. He even called working from the office “forced hours.”

Now, the PC and laptop maker wants its employees to come into the office at least thrice a week to be eligible for promotions and other perks.

The new RTO policy is receiving widespread criticism from frustrated workers. Some say female employees will be disproportionately affected by the policy as remote teams at Dell are overwhelmingly women.

Some suspect it is a “quiet firing” technique aimed at pushing some workers out. Last February, Dell laid off approximately 6,600 jobs, around 5% of its workforce, citing poor PC sales.

Several employees lament they either have to move to be close to the office or risk being classified as remote workers who will never get promotions.