At the beginning of the summer, Elon Musk made headlines, among many other things, for his opposition to telecommuting. The tycoon had put a for them to return to the office.
Now, it has emerged that he is receiving detailed weekly reports about Tesla staff not showing up for work at the office. News of the attendance check comes as Tesla faces logistical and morale issues with returning to office work.
Initially, Musk’s reprimand and threat was directed only at managers, but now it seems that middle management and employees (where teleworking was still allowed in some cases) are also being controlled.
Apparently, as reported to CNBC, in some of its factories and offices, Tesla is struggling with issues like overcrowding, office supply shortages, and low employee morale.
Companywide, about 10% of Tesla employees were absent from the office on a typical workday, internal documents that have come to light show.
To ensure that employees comply with the order to work on site, Musk receives detailed weekly reports on absenteeism in the company.
Musk and his crusade for presence
As we discussed, in late May, a leaked email from Musk revealed that the billionaire CEO had told the company’s staff that “remote work is no longer acceptable.”
“Anyone who wants to do remote work needs to be in the office for a minimum (and I do mean minimum) 40 hours a week or leave Tesla,” Musk told employees in the memo.
When asked about the email, Musk made it clear that he had zero tolerance for demands from workers to continue working from home full time, saying bluntly, “Let them find work elsewhere.”
The following month, it emerged that Tesla staff were returning to the office only to find that there weren’t enough desks or parking spaces for all of them after hiring during the pandemic months.
Other workers also found a Wi-Fi connection stable enough to get their work done. They told The Information that some managers told them to work from home some days because there weren’t enough jobs.
Some executives have objected to what they perceive as a “meaningless” ultimatum, asserting that the CEO’s presence is overrated and that flexibility is imperative when it comes to keeping and recruiting employees throughout today’s times.
According to CNBC, Tesla had been open to remote work among its office staff before the pandemic, so the company didn’t build enough new workspaces or buy enough office supplies to bring in its entire white-collar workforce during the pandemic. forty hours a week.
Tesla is not the only large North American company that has run into problems by requiring a return to offices. Apple employees have threatened to resign over the company’s hybrid model, and Google has struggled to work out the logistics of bringing employees back.