50 percent compulsory attendance: Otto brings employees back to the office
The Hamburg-based retail company Otto wants to stick with flexible working. But the 5000 employees have to go back to the office. There is massive criticism.
Back to the head office: 5000 Otto employees in Hamburg will have to work on site again from January.
(Image: Otto Group)
The retail company Otto in Hamburg is imposing a 50 percent attendance requirement on its 5,000 employees from January 1, 2025. Previously, employees were free to choose whether they preferred to work from home or in person. As a result, it was also possible to work entirely from home. According to media reports, there has been massive internal criticism of the plans.
A spokesperson told the "Hamburger Abendblatt" newspaper that the company wanted to "create a balance between on-site and remote working". Some departments had recently worked completely from home, while others were almost always on site at the company headquarters. The management wants to standardize this. According to media reports, the hope is for more creativity and efficiency.
Employees criticize the plan
While many companies around the world only started working from home as a result of the coronavirus pandemic, Otto already had flexible working time models beforehand, although the focus has shifted more towards remote working recently. The criticism from employees, who were informed via an intranet post, was correspondingly high. Some no longer even live near the head office, others see their work-life balance at risk. Some complain of a loss of trust. At a meeting this week, the management wants to promote understanding.
The new arrangement will initially be tested for three months. The teams will be able to choose their own days of attendance. The employees will probably not have to fear a complete return to presence any time soon: The new company headquarters in Hamburg's Bramfeld district, which opened in April this year, has been specially designed for flexible working. It provides for desk sharing. It is not known whether all employees will be able to work there at the same time.
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Apple and Amazon are leading the way
Prominent examples of a return to more face-to-face working are companies such as Apple and Amazon, which have recalled their employees due to concerns about a loss of quality. A survey by the German Cifo Institute, on the other hand, concludes that there is no major trend in the economy for companies to plan stricter guidelines. Surveys show that flexible working time models are still very popular with employees.
(mki)
