The company announced the requirement on Sept. 23, but by Sept. 27 retreated and informed workers that they would not mandate specific days to come into the office. It will be left up to individual teams to decide their staffs’ work schedules, the company said.
Both messages are a big change from GM’s flexible “work appropriately” rules that were announced by CEO Mary Barra and celebrated by the company in April 2021. Those rules promoted a flexible policy that could change based on a variety of factors, including the employee, week and project. “Our plan was always, and still is, collaboratively design the solution that best balances the needs of the enterprise with the needs of each of you,” reads the memo, signed by Barra and other executives, a copy of which was seen by CNBC.
In a follow-up message to workers, they were told they would not be required to return to their offices before the first quarter of next year. “While we have maintained a highly collaborative culture over the past two years during a very challenging time, the intangible benefits of in-person collaboration are going to be a critical success factor as we move into a period of rapid launches,” the follow-up message read. “This evolution is about being ready for the next phase of our transformation.”
Workers were reportedly confused by the announcements in light of GM’s flexible “work appropriately” rules.