Are you looking for remote work with The Walt Disney Company? You might be out of luck.
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In one of many changes since Bob Iger replaced former Disney CEO Bob Chapek, Iger announced on Monday that Disney hybrid workers would be required to spend more time in the office.
Starting March 1, hybrid Disney employees must spend four days in the office weekly. In an e-mail obtained by Spectrum News 13, Iger wrote that the change would benefit company culture, creativity, and employees’ careers:
“As I’ve been meeting with teams throughout the Company over the past few months, I’ve been reminded of the tremendous value in being together with the people you work with. As you’ve heard me say many times, 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.”
This change will likely be unpopular as 61% of work-from-home employees in the United States report choosing to do so even when offered to return to the office amid the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Still, morale was low among The Walt Disney Company corporate employees under Chapek, and Iger aims to fix it.
Disney Parks Cast Members hope for change, too. Many Disneyland Resort Cast Members rely on sex work, crowded housing, and skipping meals to survive. Hundreds of Walt Disney World Resort Cast Members are unhoused. Disabled Cast Members report numerous on-the-job risks.
Inside the Magic will continue to report changes made throughout Iger’s two-year contract as Disney CEO.
What do you think of Disney CEO Bob Iger’s decision to force hybrid employees into the office four days a week?