Rumor mill: After spending months, or even years, working from home during the Covid pandemic, IT employees are now largely unwilling to return to the old working regime. While managers would prefer to have everyone back in the office, large corporations are seemingly resorting to extreme measures to prevent abuse of hybrid work arrangements.
Multiple unnamed sources confirmed to The Register that Dell is implementing a multifaceted system designed to track hybrid workers if or when they access the company’s offices. Among other things, the PC giant will use a custom color-coding system to assign a “score” to every single employee based on their onsite presence.
The plan, which was described as a true “mess” by one source from inside the company, was seemingly conceived by Dell’s COO, Jeff Clarke. HR will now track electronic badge swipes and VPN connections to ensure an employee is genuinely working onsite, discouraging those who claim to be in the office when they have actually scanned their badge and then returned home.
The color-coding system includes four different ratings, the sources explain. A “blue” flag indicates a “consistent” onsite presence, while a “green” flag denotes a regular onsite presence. “Yellow” flags are assigned to workers with “some” onsite presence, while “red” flags indicate a limited onsite presence.
One of the sources said that Dell managers aren’t showing consistent appreciation for the plan. Some managers expect Dell employees to mostly stay in the blue, while others seem willing to settle for some red flags.
Earlier this year, Dell imposed a strict “return to office” policy on its employees, requiring hybrid workers to have at least a 39-day onsite presence every quarter. Fully remote workers are now punished with no promotions or relocation opportunities, despite Michael Dell expressing his appreciation for remote work in the past.
In a statement sent to The Register, a Dell spokesperson confirmed the company’s 39-day onsite rule for team members assigned to hybrid roles. Dell believes that “in-person connections” and a flexible approach are the most important factors for driving innovation, the spokesperson said.
The new color-coding plan should take effect on May 13. Dell officially confirmed that its entire workforce amounts to 120,000 people, though a more realistic figure, which includes contract workers, could swell up to 150,000. A source expressed concern about Clarke’s classification plan, which could be a way to identify the best targets for an upcoming round of layoffs. “Everyone in IT is firing employees now,” the source said, and Dell is expected to make a new announcement this summer.
