After reversing its position on remote work, Dell is reportedly implementing new tracking techniques on May 13 to ensure its workers are following the company’s return-to-office (RTO) policy, The Register reported today, citing anonymous sources.
Dell will track employees’ badge swipes and VPN connections to confirm that workers are in the office for a significant amount of time.
Dell’s methods for tracking hybrid workers will also reportedly include a color-coding system. From “consistent” to “limited” presence, the colors are blue, green, yellow, and red.
The Register reported today that approximately 50 percent of Dell’s US workers are remote, compared to 66 percent of international workers.
An examination of 457 companies on the S&P 500 list released in February concluded that RTO mandates don’t drive company value but instead negatively affect worker morale. Analysis of survey data from more than 18,000 working Americans released in March found that flexible workplace policies, including the ability to work remotely completely or part-time and flexible schedules, can help employees’ mental health.
Are their egos fragile because they know the people who do the real work are… not them?
Hard to say, you could be right. That’s where I’m less sure. I’ve had jobs where a (not direct manager) boss thinks I do less than I do, and more than I do.
The ones who believed I did less believed they did more than me regardless of what my manager reported or actual work done. The ones who believed more consistently didn’t hand me work and I eventually would leave.
One job I had different people who disagreed about the actual amount of work I did based on if I was at my desk vs the amount of awards I had vs my lunch breaks vs my extra work projects. I’d have feedback sessions with my manager about burnout but also if I was taking too long for lunch and going home too early.
What I’m saying is I think people are terrible at assessing subordinates work.
Yeah it’s probably more complicated than a single factor/parameter, eh. Anyway, thanks for sharing your thoughts and experiences!