'Retiring the Hybrid Policy': Dell Issues a Strict Return-to-Office Mandate for Most Employees Dell Technologies has around 43,000 employees in the U.S.

By Erin Davis

Key Takeaways

  • Dell CEO Michael Dell told staff in an email Friday that employees living within an hour of the company's offices should be at their desks five days a week.
  • The new policy will eliminate their previous hybrid system and begins in March.

In October, Dell Technologies told sales staff to return to the office five days a week. Now, the tech giant is issuing a strict return-to-office (RTO) mandate for all employees who live within an hour of their local offices, according to an internal memo exclusively obtained by Business Insider.

Dell staff received the news via email from the company's CEO, Michael Dell. The RTO mandate begins in March.

"Starting March 3, all hybrid and remote team members who live near a Dell office will work in the office five days a week," Dell wrote. "We are retiring the hybrid policy effective that day."

Related: AT&T and Sweetgreen Are Following Amazon's Lead With Stricter Return-to-Office Mandates

However, employees who live more than an hour from a Dell office can keep working remotely, the email stated, though the company also said last spring that remote employees would not be eligible for promotions without several layers of approvals and red tape.

Dell is headquartered in Round Rock, Texas, and has 120,000 staffers worldwide. The company has more than 40 U.S. office locations to house its 43,000 employees in the States.

Dell is the latest major company to bring employees back to the office. The largest bank in the country, JPMorgan, also recently implemented a five-day-a-week RTO mandate. Walmart and Amazon have also brought workers back in-house.

Michael Dell, 59, founded Dell in 1984 when he was 19 years old. He is currently No. 14 on the Bloomberg Billionaires Index with a net worth of $117 billion.

Related: JPMorgan Shuts Down Internal Message Board Comments After Employees React to Return-to-Office Mandate

Erin Davis

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