Remote workers in Dell Technologies stand firm

It was with a fair amount of interest that I read this article during the week. Computer company Dell Technologies, like many companies in the USA, has been trying to enforce a return to office for their workers, with dismal results.

During the worldwide crisis that was COVID-19, Dell mandated a remote work policy which their employees resisted at first, but gradually grew accustomed to. And now that COVID-19 is no longer life-threatening (at least for the general public), Dell has tried an about-face on this by demanding that employees return to the office.

Sound familiar?

If you're thinking that you've heard all this before, you probably have. This is a story that has been repeated over and over since 2021, not just in the USA but all over the world. Employers like Elon Musk have even stamped their metaphorical feet and opined that chosing to work from home is "immoral", which only serves to enforce my belief that being worth millions of dollars doesn't mean you're less prone to saying stupid shit.

Going to remote work meant that many employees had made certain commitments in terms of housing location and lifestyle. A return to office would disrupt everything, and incur certain costs such as transport, food and makeup. Nice shoes. The works. Those were just financial costs; there were also costs with regard to time, such as the daily commute.

Traffic is crazy.

Can we reasonably blame workers for not wanting to go through yet another drastic lifestyle change after going all in the first time? Should we accuse them all of being lazy and unmotivated or worse, actively trying to take advantage of the company? Those bad actors do exist, but does their existence justify tarring all remote workers with the same brush? Or is that just a convenient excuse?

Also, a company known for making computers portable and providing network access to those computers so that they can be used from anywhere, is insisting on a return to office? How's that for an unsubtle dose of irony?

Standoff

What's interesting is that Dell stated that those who opted to remain remote would no longer be considered for promotion... and a full fifty percent of remote employees didn't blink. The sentiment appears to be that the threat of not being promoted was an empty one, anyway, as opportunities for promotion had been scarce even before this. Their defiance seemed to state that even if there was a genuine chance of getting promoted had they chosen to acquiesce, promotion just wasn't worth making all those changes. The carrot wasn't working.

A chance at promotion?

Of course, the stick would soon follow. Or, if you consider the aforementioned "carrot" actually more of a stick, an even bigger stick would inevitably follow. The implication being that in the case of layoffs or company restructuring, remote workers would be the first on the chopping block.

Who's winning?

Well, arguably, the fact that this story is out in the public in the first place, means that Dell as a company has lost. And if Management goes to war with its own employees over this, Dell's reputation as a workplace can only fall further.

Resentment at Dell's machinations has caused employees to not only remain remote, but also to actively seek out new employment regardless of what Dell eventually decides. There's also the sneaky feeling all around, that Dell Management knows exactly what they're doing. After all, if those opting to stay remote really do leave, this eliminates the cost of compensating them if indeed layoffs do occur. To be fair to Dell, this tactic is hardly illegal. If we're being honest, it's not even exactly original.

Dell's tactics at this point in time would seem to be directly contradictory to the stand articulated by CEO Michael Dell less than two years ago. This is an excerpt from his blog, where he waxed lyrical about Dell's inclusive work culture.

But from my experience, if you are counting on forced hours spent in a traditional office to create collaboration and provide a feeling of belonging within your organization, you’re doing it wrong.

Technology’s ability to create a do-anything-from-anywhere world, where work is an outcome rather than a place or time, also enables you to create a strong corporate culture anywhere, all the time.

And another...

Ultimately, we have committed to allow team members around the globe to choose the work style that best fits their lifestyle - whether that is remote or in an office or a blend of the two. We are redesigning office spaces for the purpose of bringing teams together for social connection and collaboration to enhance hybrid experiences.

These decisions are grounded in our culture and based on the facts of our internal data. It is a philosophy of flexibility, choice, and connection.

Companies making a u-turn from their previous stands isn't at all new, of course... but a u-turn after that extravagant song and dance about "flexibility, choice, and connection"? Unless shame is a completely foreign concept to you, that's nothing short of an utter embarrassment.

Abrupt reversal in direction.

If we give Dell the benefit of the doubt, Dell may have been all about remote work in the beginning, but perhaps that sentiment was genuine until the tides of reality hit and they realized that they simply weren't that well-equipped for it. Perhaps this was an honest mistake.

Or perhaps, more cynically, it was just corporate gaslighting. Perhaps those words by Michael Dell were merely meant to sway workers to adopt remote work due to circumstances caused by COVID-19... and now that the pandemic is over, there's no longer any need for that pretense.

All in all...

As a salaried worker and an economic digit, my heart is with the employees of Dell no matter what their ultimate decisions are. This stalemate cannot end well; eventually the pendulum will have to swing one way or another. Only time will tell if Dell Technologies, as a company, can survive.

I would like to conclude by saying that I've never been a big fan of the USA. There's precious little about American culture that I admire, that I would choose over Asian culture. But now here's one thing, at least. I appreciate the way these workers at Dell have managed to prioritize the quality of their lives over corporate promotions. That's something that we in Southeast Asia, with our obsessive hustling and pointless flexing of empty job titles, can emulate.

What the Dell?!
T___T