The number of organizations that treat adults like third graders, and seem to think physical presence in the workplace is more important than actual productivity, is incredible. Here’s just one of many recent examples:
Frasers Group, a major UK retail company that oversees several popular sporting goods and other brands, recently announced to its staff that they will no longer be able to work from home on Fridays. The original initiative—called “Frasers Fridays”—began at the end of 2020 in response to the pandemic and was reportedly available to all 25,000 employees, whether they were customer-facing or primarily back office.
In a memo revoking this perk, COO David Al-Mudallal, claimed there were “too many examples” of people not being contactable when they needed to be, and reportedly told staff that some of their social media profiles were “demonstrating that they’re not treating Friday as a working day.”
A spokeswoman told the BBC the firm believed people worked better in an office and collaboration was “key to how we deliver value.”
No word yet on whether they are still required to line up for recess.
