Disney Employees Must Return to Office Four Days a Week, Bob Iger Says

[Dranth]

Losing blood because you don’t want to go back to the office as directed by the CEO? Bye Bye! Some seem to forget they worked in offices pre Covid. This is not Burger King. You can’t have it your way.

More power to you if that works for you but a lot of people don't operate that way.

I have worked with many owners/CEOs and the ones who drone on about the whole "My way or the highway" are generally the insecure ones who make poor leaders.

 

[lazyboy97o]

It’s good to learn that “smart” people are the ones who don’t think for themselves and are “just following orders”.

 

[flynnibus]

Good leaders try to hire people that make them better... not just bodies to assign tasks to.

The difference between 'workers' and 'contributors'. Ultimately at some level employees are just cogs.. but that level shouldn't be the n-1 level of management

 

[trainplane3]

Yes you can.

There is no longer a glut of talent lining up to work for Disney. When they find themselves running skeleton crews due to people leaving or being let go, they'll have no choice but to backtrack.

My company did the same kind of announcement saying "we're an in office business".

Less then 2 weeks later the CEO posted a video apologizing and and said for those looking for new jobs to please wait and work with their managers. My boss and many others weren't happy with the announcement. Guess what? Productivity has been up along with system performance compared to pre-covid. Work-life balance has been excellent aside from some night and weekend things, but no one complains anymore since we don't need to be in the office. It's a fair trade honestly.

This isn't some small company either. There's a very good chance you've heard of us.

 

[mkt]

My company did the same kind of announcement saying "we're an in office business".

Less then 2 weeks later the CEO posted a video apologizing and and said for those looking for new jobs to please wait and work with their managers. My boss and many others weren't happy with the announcement. Guess what? Productivity has been up along with system performance compared to pre-covid. Work-life balance has been excellent aside from some night and weekend things, but no one complains anymore since we don't need to be in the office. It's a fair trade honestly.

This isn't some small company either. There's a very good chance you've heard of us.

I am 100% sure people have heard of my employer as well.

 

[disneyC97]

Disney has been building a brand new headquarters in downtown Manhattan for a few years and will move out of their smaller Upper West Side buildings (mostly from the ABC purchase) when it’s ready. I doubt they want that new building mostly empty.

 

[James122]

I'm a big proponent of WFH, but it seems like some are acting as if this is some kind of unheard-of threshold that Disney is crossing. They're hardly the only large company to order employees back to the office - heck, they're not even the only media company to do this. Last summer Warner Bros Discovery ordered their employees back in the office 3 days a week and they have yet to backtrack. Just last week, Lionsgate announced plans to have their employees come into the office 4 days a week starting next week.

Disney is hardly an outlier on this matter - rather, they're really just following the general trend of what other large media companies are doing.

 

[JMcMahonEsq]

My company did the same kind of announcement saying "we're an in office business".

Less then 2 weeks later the CEO posted a video apologizing and and said for those looking for new jobs to please wait and work with their managers. My boss and many others weren't happy with the announcement. Guess what? Productivity has been up along with system performance compared to pre-covid. Work-life balance has been excellent aside from some night and weekend things, but no one complains anymore since we don't need to be in the office. It's a fair trade honestly.

This isn't some small company either. There's a very good chance you've heard of us.

Interesting. We tried bringing everyone back in the summer of 2021, but then delta hit and we went back to remote.

We brought everyone back end of 2022 and did a complete we are open for business, and everyone has to come back. Our business operations maybe slightly different in that that the majority of our work cannot be done remotely and was kept open during the pandemic (think public works construction and heavy industrial/civil building.) For the most part upper management has taken position we can't have people working away on project sites in person, having to come in 60+ hours a week, while letting admin/executive/office people work from home. It has caused some grumblings, and there is no question some of the work could be done remotely, but we haven't lost too many people. It seems most of the turn over has been from people who moved during the times we were working remotely, and now can't get back to the offices.

 

[lazyboy97o]

I'm a big proponent of WFH, but it seems like some are acting as if this is some kind of unheard-of threshold that Disney is crossing. They're hardly the only large company to order employees back to the office - heck, they're not even the only media company to do this. Last summer Warner Bros Discovery ordered their employees back in the office 3 days a week and they have yet to backtrack. Just last week, Lionsgate announced plans to have their employees come into the office 4 days a week starting next week.

Disney is hardly an outlier on this matter - rather, they're really just following the general trend of what other large media companies are doing.

If Warner Bros. Discovery is doing it, it must be a good idea.

 

[LittleBuford]

I'm a little agnostic on this as I am sure remote work is good for some people and positions, and not so great for others.

Must admit, though, that it also reminds me a little of the arguments about university lectures pre-pandemic. While particularly many students felt they should be recorded and available to be watched online when and how best suited the students, the counter argument was that the structure and human interaction that came from having set times and places where students had to be was ultimately beneficial. Can't help but feel that there has to be some benefit to an organisation like Disney in having people seeing and interacting with each other in person rather than mostly via text and video from their own homes.

Because of health concerns, I wasn’t quite ready to return to in-person teaching when we were asked to do so, but I’m so glad I did. It wasn’t till I was back in the classroom interacting with students face-to-face (albeit through masks!) that I realised how much we benefitted from being around each other. The energy was so much better than it could ever be over Zoom, and all of us became more motivated and productive as a result.

 

[mkt]

I doubt they want that new building mostly empty.

Rezone them as residential and rent them out.

Disney Properties, where you live IN the magic. The most magical landlord on earth.

Obviously somewhat sarcastic.

 

[Lilofan]

More power to you if that works for you but a lot of people don't operate that way.

I have worked with many owners/CEOs and the ones who drone on about the whole "My way or the highway" are generally the insecure ones who make poor leaders.

Iger is far from poor then again far from great also. So if there is a new policy and you don’t willingly follow it then be prepared to see what happens next. Iger isn’t the only exec who directs staff to come back to the office.

 

[SaucyBoy]

Because of health concerns, I wasn’t quite ready to return to in-person teaching when we were asked to do so, but I’m so glad I did. It wasn’t till I was back in the classroom interacting with students face-to-face (albeit through masks!) that I realised how much we benefitted from being around each other. The energy was so much better than it could ever be over Zoom, and all of us became more motivated and productive as a result.

You and me too! I will admit I did enjoy teaching remotely for a while. I was fortunate that my district set up its own virtual school, with its own admin and student support team, in 2020-21 which really helped the transition instead of each school doing their own thing. I enjoyed serving my community in that capacity. But when I returned to my classroom space in August 2021, I actually cried. I missed my high schoolers, colleagues, and just the general comradery that comes with being in a school building. I'll never take it for granted again.

 

[Dranth]

Because of health concerns, I wasn’t quite ready to return to in-person teaching when we were asked to do so, but I’m so glad I did. It wasn’t till I was back in the classroom interacting with students face-to-face (albeit through masks!) that I realised how much we benefitted from being around each other. The energy was so much better than it could ever be over Zoom, and all of us became more motivated and productive as a result.

I think this perfectly highlights how it is really a case by case basis depending on the job, company and industry. In some cases it will be a much better outcome while others it will be no difference/worse.

 

[Dranth]

Iger is far from poor then again far from great also. So if there is a new policy and you don’t willingly follow it then be prepared to see what happens next. Iger isn’t the only exec who directs staff to come back to the office.

You're right, he isn't the only one and I am sure there are more to come and yes, an owner or CEO can absolutely put out an edict and then fire you when you don’t follow it. That doesn’t mean it isn’t a mistake. The best of them I have dealt with don’t really do absolutes and understand that jobs and people are different and require different setups/situations/support for success.

 

[LittleBuford]

I think this perfectly highlights how it is really a case by case basis depending on the job, company and industry. In some cases it will be a much better outcome while others it will be no difference/worse.

Agreed, though I share @Sir_Cliff’s sense that Disney is the kind of organisation that, overall, probably benefits from in-person interaction (which isn’t to say that working from home shouldn’t remain an option for those who need it or for certain jobs within the company).

 

[Wendy Pleakley]

I like going into the office for a change of scenery and stuff, but I'm often the only one there. In an office that can hold thirty people.

It's pretty obvious what people prefer.

Pre-pandemic we had the option of a 3/2 split between office and home. I don't know why Iger is pushing for a full 4 days or what benefit that level of human interaction brings to those jobs in particular.

 

[LittleBuford]

I like going into the office for a change of scenery and stuff, but I'm often the only one there. In an office that can hold thirty people.

It's pretty obvious what people prefer.

Pre-pandemic we had the option of a 3/2 split between office and home. I don't know why Iger is pushing for a full 4 days or what benefit that level of human interaction brings to those jobs in particular.

I’m not surprised many people prefer it, but I’m not sure that making working from home the norm is the best way forward for society at large. I’d even go so far as to say that increased productivity isn’t worth it for the loss in human interaction.

 

[Lilofan]

I’m not surprised many people prefer it, but I’m not sure that making working from home the norm is the best way forward for society at large. I’d even go so far as to say that increased productivity isn’t worth it for the loss in human interaction.

With another benefit of going to work in the office is a number of small businesses will be better supported financially by the commuters going to and from work.

 

[LittleBuford]

With another benefit of going to work in the office is a number of small businesses will be better supported financially by the commuters going to and from work.

Commuting is to my mind one of the best arguments against going into the office. The cost can be prohibitive in certain cities.