Dell staffers scramble to find childcare after 5-days-a-week office mandate gives just a few days notice: report

Dell sent staffers into a panic last week by mandating they return to the office five days a week – on just a few days’ notice, according to a report.The Round Rock, Texas-based tech company sent its sales team a memo on Sept.26, a Thursday, mandating employees return to full-time, in-person work starting that Monday, according to a Business Insider report.“The expectation is that ALL Global Sales team members who can work from a Dell office be on-site five days a week, regardless of role,” the internal memo from sales chiefs Bill Scannell and John Byrne said, according to BI. Parents ran into roadblocks as they scrambled to find last-minute childcare on Thursday night and discovered that after-school programs were already fully booked.“The biggest thing that I saw from just being in the office that day was parents freaking out,” a Dell sales employee told BI.

“It’s one thing to already have childcare set up and already having to pay that crazy amount, but having a weekend to figure it out …”Scannell and Byrne acknowledged in the memo that workers “may need some time to make new arrangements,” but they did not provide details or specific accommodations that could be made, the report said.“We continually evolve our business so we’re set up to deliver the best innovation, value and service to our customers and partners,” a Dell spokesperson told The Post.“That includes more in-person connection to drive market leadership.”Dell is the latest major company to force its employees to resume in-office work – echoing mandates this year from companies like Amazon, Salesforce and PricewaterhouseCoopers. But Dell’s mandate comes as a particular shock to its salespeople, who were told in February they could choose between hybrid or remote work.The hybrid policy took effect in May.

Hybrid staffers needed to be in the office about three days a week. Though the software giant tracked employee attendance, the hybrid policy was fairly flexi...