Tesla is in turmoil over return-to-office (RTO) policies that don’t reflect the realities the company and its employees are facing.
CEO Elon Musk made it very clear in June that he wanted the company’s office-based employees in the office, or he would take their absence as a sign of resignation.
“Anyone who wishes to do remote work must be in the office for a minimum (and I mean ‘minimum’) of 40 hours per week or depart Tesla,” Musk wrote in an email with the subject line “Remote work is no longer acceptable.”
The only problem is, Tesla is not properly equipped to handle a full RTO transition. According to CNBC, the company was generally open to remote work prior to the pandemic. As a result, when the company went through various phases of expansion, it didn’t always build out with the goal of having 100% of its employees in-office all the time. Now Telsa finds itself without the workstations or office equipment it needs to meet Musk’s demands.
To make matters worse, Tesla is increasing its surveillance of employees, including sending weekly reports to Musk detailing employee absenteeism.
According to CNBC, Musk’s policies are leading to a decline in morale. The decline is especially sharp among teams that could work remotely before the pandemic but are now expected to be in the office.
Only time will tell if Tesla walks back its RTO policies. In the meantime, it should at least consider buying its employees desks so being in the office isn’t quite as miserable an experience.