Since Bob Iger’s sudden return to the Walt Disney Company, many have been eagerly watching to see what BIG changes may be put into place.
©Reuters
We’ve shared a full post of EVERY change that has taken place since Iger took over, and we know that organizational and operating changes are expected to be implemented as a result of Iger’s return. But now certain employees will feel the impact of another Iger-implemented change.
According to CNBC, Iger has sent an email to hybrid Disney employees and indicated that they MUST return to Disney’s corporate offices to work physically within the office at least 4 days a week starting March 1st, 2023.
In the email, Iger shared that he had been “meeting with teams throughout the company over the past few months” and had been “reminded of the tremendous value in being together with the people you work with.”
©Disney
He went on to say that “creativity is the heart and soul of who we are and what we do at Disney. And in a creative business like ours, nothing can replace the ability to connect, observe, and create with peers that comes from being physically together, nor the opportunity to grow professionally by learning from leaders and mentors.”
CNBC points out that the 4-day-per-week “stipulation” is “relatively strict” compared to other companies that have only required hybrid employees to come into the office 2 or 3 days per week.
©Alberto E. Rodriguez / Getty Images
This change likely comes as no surprise, however, to those familiar with Iger’s thinking. According to a New York Times article, though Iger initially did not make a return to office mandate when he came back as CEO, he reportedly told employees “I worry long term about the negative impact on people who have decided not to spend as much time at the office.”
Still, the New York Times observes that hybrid work is slowly establishing itself as the “new normal” and some managers are having a hard time reversing the changes.
Julia Pollack, the chief economist at ZipRecruiter shared that while many companies have, in recent months, insisted that people come back to the office 5 days a week, some have had to “reverse that mandate within about a week after hearing that they’d lose their best and brightest,” as some may not be willing to change their work-from-home arrangement.
Bob Iger ©Bloomberg
How will Disney employees respond to these changes? Only time will tell.
Want to learn more about Iger’s return and the upcoming changes? Click here to see 4 important secrets you didn’t know about the Iger-Chapek conflict. And click here to see what Iger has said about exceeding fans’ highest expectations.
For even MORE Iger/Disney CEO content, check out our links below:
- The Biggest Disney CEO Scandals
- “Time Is Ticking” on CEO Bob Iger at The Walt Disney Company
- “He Baaaack” — Are You SURPRISED Where Bob Iger Ranks Among Media CEOs?
- Why It Might Be Easy To Replace Bob Iger at Disney
- “Top Contender” Emerges to Replace Bob Iger as Disney CEO
And stay tuned for the latest news.
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Donald duck and daisy have been my favorite since I was a little girl . And putting alcohol in the restaurants is a using more violence with xrunz. Have you ever seen a duck in pants? Mr Disney had children in mind when he came up with this park it used to me my favorite vacation spot.and I’m 68 now and taking the fun out of it . I changed my minf
This sounds like a common sense move. Not being there would make it difficult to create an environment conducive to creativity. Zoom is not the same as being in the room with a group, interacting, making small talk about family issues and common interests, laughing, joking, bouncing ideas off of each other. Also, working from home would seem to be a very tough way to grow within a company; how does your mentor recognize when he/she needs to interact with you and provide guidance or support? How do you build relationships with coworkers and management? How do you compete for higher positions with others who are there?
Forcing employees to the office is simply upper management’s way of keeping tabs on people because they don’t trust them.
This is a soft layoff. Chapak announced it and took a beating over it, ultimately costing him the CEO position. The Iger approach is to tell everyone to come back to the office and see how many leave via retirement, early retirement, or outright quit.
You’ll notice Iger didn’t withdraw the hiring freeze even thought Disney is short thousands of employees. Instead he puts further demands, making it harder for those already doing the job of two or more people.
Iger’s return brought so much promise in November then immediately turned around and demonstrated how out of touch he is with today’s workforce.
Iger resign in 2020 because he said he wasn’t listening any more. It is clear that hasn’t changed.
Disney employees are very lucky they got to stay out this long and work from home and now have to go back 4 days a week . I had to back to work in September of 2021, 5 days a week. After being out since March of 2020.
Good for Bob. Insist on everyone getting back to work as usual-IN THE OFFICE-Just like before COVID. The employees who don’t want to can find a job elsewhere. When these people were hired it was not for at home work it was in office work and people need to get back to that. Maybe having employees back in the office will be conducive to some great improvements. Good luck
While a lot of offices have proven to operate better with staff working from home, Disney is a different case for some areas. Collaboration and idea bouncing is a large part of how so many great things have manifested over decades, so it makes sense that some department need to be in person.
Iger is not superman but if he can’t turn things around then Disney will have become a second rate company with little loyalty among their guests and employees.
I feel for the Disney employees who have grown used to the awesome flexibility that you get when you work from home! I just don’t understand why it is so important to be in an office! I just don’t see the benefits of spending hours in traffic 4 days a week!
There is value in being together. The pandemic changed a lot, but zoom meetings just aren’t the same and it’s time to normalize. As a nurse and someone who never had the opportunity to work remotely to keep myself safe, I’m a bit tired of people threatening to quit just because they have to actually go to their workplaces. I hope Disney employees don’t do that.
CNN said it was too strict. Of course they would say that! People should have to report to work. Don’t go to work or get another job.
I disagree with the CEO’s assessment 2 to 3 days is more the industry standard now and companies as well as departments should be assessing how each division should handle it. This would apply to non park non resort personnel assuming. While zoom may not be the same not all people need to be together in person so a blanket statement company wide seems outdated. If you trust your people and treat them well they will produce. Many people that work from home are far more productive and achieve a better work life balance not to mention the environmental benefits. On this matter the thinking is to out dated.
This is not a good move or a good look and shows how out of touch and frankly, last century Iger’s thinking is, Disney will hemorrhage their young talent now.
The Pandemic made it a necessity to work from home for 1-2-3 years. Prior to the Pandemic, all employees were either in the office or in the field working for as long as I can remember and I am retired now. Let’s allow Disney and all employers to determine who must work in the office or in the field or at home. If an employee is happy with his or her job, co-workers salary and opportunity for advancement, working in office or in the field would not cause most to quit for another job. The grass may not be greener elsewhere.
Disney employees feel a greater sense of family and community with the company because of the fact that Walt built that into the company’s DNA. To that end, it’s unlikely that such a move by Iger will cause a massive wave of employee walkouts. Disney CMs may not like the move, but they will do it because “it’s Disney.”
They got to experience how modern companies are handling hybrid work. But that time is, admittedly, over, and Disney is going a different direction, and there’s nothing wrong with what they are doing.
Interesting mandate. Difficult to say exactly why. Flexible schedules and working from home should be viable options in every company where the job supports doing so. I am not totally assured that creative work stops because schedules are flexible or that mandating it will produce better results. people should be inspired to teach peaks of creativity not necessarily mandated into or out of it. As a person that worked through covid at home it was no walk in the park and there is no lazy in working from home often one works longer hours it all comes down to personal responsibility and integrity.
If I was Iger, everyone would be brought back to work with the same schedule that they were hired for! Once everyone returns and are settled back into working at the office. At some point form groups to look at different possible work schedule change proposals. Then make changes that are acceptable and can be approved. For those that choose not to return to work, they are basically quitting!
It’s about time. The people that have been carrying the slack for those allowed to work from home would like some assistance.
Go back to work is fine you’ll survive.
Let the ones who don’t want to come back to the office leave then. Maybe that way Disney can hire more creative people who will come up with new movie ideas instead of just remaking older ones.
These people worked in the office BEFORE COVID did they actually think it was a permanent change? Be grateful you have a job. I lost mine with no Hope of return
This was years before Covid changed everything. I worked for a very forward thinking company. If you didn’t want to work within their established guidelines, you could always look elsewhere. We worked hard under the 55 hour week edict. You were in the office not at home where distractions are continuous. When they decided permitting some people to work from home two days a week is when it started to fall apart. If you needed to speak to one of the “homers” immediately, many times you didn’t get an answer until they called back. As more and more people requested to work from home, creative ideas got exchanged less and less. It was frustrating and time consuming to have to try to get in touch with someone, when before, you could walk down the hall and get answers. While it may cause some difficulty within creative Disney, working in the same office makes for more ideas.