Disney’s employees are asked to work 4 days a week from office

Key Takeaways:

• Those who currently work from home are required to start showing up to work four days a week at the beginning of March, according to Disney’s CEO.
• Since September, Apple employees have been required to work in the office three days per week.

The head of Disney has instructed those who currently work from home to begin coming into the office four days a week at the beginning of March.

According to CEO Bob Iger, so-called, “hybrid” employees will now be expected to treat Monday through Thursday as in-person workdays.

He also emphasised the importance of face-to-face interaction for “a creative business like ours.”

The announcement was made two months after Mr Iger’s unexpected return to Disney.

Nothing can replace learning from leaders and mentors to advance one’s career, nor the chance to connect, observe and create with peers that come from being physically present, according to Mr Iger in a memo to staff obtained by the BBC.

In addition, he said, “I think that working together more face-to-face will help the company’s creativity, culture, and our employees’ careers.”

Back to work

To try to stop the spread of Covid-19, Disney, like many other large corporations, permitted workers to work from home during the pandemic.

Disney has now taken action to invite employees back to their offices, much like other significant businesses.

Businesses like Snap, Tesla, and Uber have recently announced similar changes to their working policies.

Three days a week of office work have been mandated for Apple employees since September by the tech giant.

The multi-billionaire Elon Musk ended Twitter’s ongoing “work from anywhere” policy in November by ordering employees to spend 40 hrs a week in the office.

Many employees are said to have left due to Mr Musk’s decision to purchase the social media platform for $44 billion (£38.7 billion), calling for them to work “long hours at high intensity” or quit.

Iger’s comeback

The company’s board of directors reinstated Mr Iger to help it through a challenging time after its stock price crashed and the Disney+ streaming service continued to post losses.

Less than a year had passed since he had left the company and returned. Before that, he oversaw Disney for 15 years.

Bob Chapek, who took over as CEO in February 2020, was replaced by Mr Iger.

During Mr Chapek’s time as Disney’s CEO, its theme parks were closed due to Covid regulations.