A growing number of companies have also issued Return-To-Office guidelines.
Working from home became a global norm in the wake of the pandemic. Now that Covid-19 no longer qualifies as a global emergency, companies are asking their staff to return to the workplace. However, not everyone is comfortable with the idea.
Nearly half of LGBTQ dating app Grindr’s employees quit after being told to return to the office DailyExpertNews reported. In a strict mandate, the company last month told employees to start working in the office two days a week from October or risk being laid off after August 31.
According to the Communications Workers of America (CWA), the policy gave employees two weeks to choose between moving to their respective team’s newly assigned “hub” city to work in-person twice a week or leaving the company with a layoff .
About 80 of Grindr’s 178 employees refused to move and were forced to resign. Many of these employees were initially hired to work remotely, but they were asked to relocate to designated “hub” cities, including New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, San Francisco, and Washington, D.C.
The CWA has alleged that the return-to-work policy was retaliatory and in response to an industrial action at the company. The policy change came after about 100 Grindr employees launched a unionization campaign in July to protect staff amid widespread layoffs that wreaked havoc across the tech industry.
“Rather than recognize the union, the company has issued a new ‘return-to-office’ policy requiring staff to relocate or resign,” the CWA said in a statement.
The union has also filed an unfair labor practice charge against Grindr with the National Labor Relations Board.
However, a Grindr spokesperson responded, saying CWA’s allegations have “no merit.”
“We look forward to returning to the office in October in a hybrid model and further improving productivity and collaboration for our entire team,” the spokesperson said. DailyExpertNews.
A growing number of companies, including Meta, Google and Amazon, have also issued Return-To-Office guidelines.
