Tesla still faces resource shortages and unhappy workers months after Musk's return-to-office...

[midian182]

Facepalm: Three months after Elon Musk blasted remote working and demanded Tesla workers get back in the office, the EV giant is reportedly still struggling with a lack of room and resources to accommodate them all. It's contributed to a fall in morale, leading the company to start monitoring employees' attendance.

The situation began in June when Musk sent memos to SpaceX employees and Tesla executives directing that all but "exceptional" workers must spend a minimum of 40 hours in the office per week or quit. This followed an earlier email sent to Tesla staff explaining that they must work in a main company office and not a remote pseudo location.

With no alternative, staff returned a few weeks later, only to find there weren't enough desks or parking spaces at the Fremont, California, office. According to a CNBC report, citing US-based employees and internal documents, those issues are still present.

Staff have found problems that include a shortage of supplies like dongles and charging cords. Another issue is that there aren't enough conference rooms and phone booths, forcing some people to take phone calls outside.

Numerous studies have proven that employees are happier and often more productive when working from home, so being forced back into the office has hit morale at Tesla hard, especially among those who were allowed to work remotely in the pre-pandemic era.

Tesla staff who previously worked remotely and lived far from an office were told to relocate and given until September 30 to move or take a severance package. In June, Tesla reportedly dismissed without warning those who said they couldn't move or were unsure if it was possible.

An unhappy workforce often means an absent workforce. Internal records show that about one-eighth of Fremont factory employees were out on a typical day in early September, and about one-tenth were absent across the entire company. Tesla is now monitoring attendance, with Musk and other executives receiving detailed weekly reports on absenteeism.

It's not just Tesla workers who are upset by a return-to-work mandate. Apple employees have launched a petition against Cupertino's policy, and its director of machine learning left the company due to the lack of flexibility.

Permalink to story.

https://www.techspot.com/news/95985-tesla-faces-resource-shortages-unhappy-workers-months-after.html

 

[opckieran]

Elon seriously needs to get over this… ffs why do call centers even EXIST anymore?

 

[rmcrys]

Elon searches an excuse to fire (or even better, increase instability so that people leave and he doesn´t have to pay them to leave) a good amount of workers. If they are happy they will want to stay. As most of the development and things are already on track now, he just needs a smaller amount of staff.

 

[ZedRM]

ffs why do call centers even EXIST anymore?

Because that's often the ONLY way to get certain problems solved, narrowminded thinking not withstanding...

 

[VitalyT]

"Musk" puts my teeth on edge. Can't wait to see him face the music for blatant market manipulation. Is there any justice still left in this world for the super-rich?

 

[bandit8623]

People crying over having to put on pants....

 

[ZedRM]

"Musk" puts my teeth on edge. Can't wait to see him face the music for blatant market manipulation.

Don't hold your breath on that one.

Is there any justice still left in this world for the super-rich?

Just because he's super rich does NOT mean he's a criminal.

 

[VitalyT]

People crying over having to put on pants....

Moosk in the morning, plain Moo, teslas in slacks.

 

[Theinsanegamer]

People crying over having to put on pants....

Would they cry more or less when they were told they would need to be wage competitive with someone from Arkansas willing to work for $10 an hour, or someone from mexico for $2 an hour, or china for $1 an hour?

None of these people seem to realize that the work from home thing was only instituted because the healthcare system was overloaded, thats gone now, and your bosses want to see you in the office working. Welcome to being an adult. Steelworkers, skilled trade workers, janitors, cops, firemen, ece were not complaining when they didnt get to work from home.

 

[Enaks]

Would they cry more or less when they were told they would need to be wage competitive with someone from Arkansas willing to work for $10 an hour, or someone from mexico for $2 an hour, or china for $1 an hour?

None of these people seem to realize that the work from home thing was only instituted because the healthcare system was overloaded, thats gone now, and your bosses want to see you in the office working. Welcome to being an adult. Steelworkers, skilled trade workers, janitors, cops, firemen, ece were not complaining when they didnt get to work from home.

This is always such a silly argument - explain how a steelworker, trade worker, janitor, cop or fireman can WFH and then maybe you’d have a point. It’s an apples to oranges comparison.

I’m a system engineer; our London offices are £11K PA for a hotdesk whether someone is sat there or not. The nearest office that I actually support is 250 miles away. My support teams are in Chicago, the Channel Isles & India.

Considering the above, the US firm I work for since ‘18 has me on an explicitly WFH contract. YoY revenues are great, organic growth is +6%. Everybody is happy.

 

[bandit8623]

This is always such a silly argument - explain how a steelworker, trade worker, janitor, cop or fireman can WFH and then maybe you’d have a point. It’s an apples to oranges comparison.

I’m a system engineer; our London offices are £11K PA for a hotdesk whether someone is sat there or not. The nearest office that I actually support is 250 miles away. My support teams are in Chicago, the Channel Isles & India.

Considering the above, the US firm I work for since ‘18 has me on an explicitly WFH contract. YoY revenues are great, organic growth is +6%. Everybody is happy.

not really. every employer is different. if the owner wants to see faces at the office that their choice. if you dont like it go find a job where u can work from home. if your job is going fine the way it is good for you. at my company the sales team are required to come into work unless for reasons like sick kids ect.
I can tell you that sales people that are onsite its a much better atmosphere all around and a tighter group. you may not care about those qualities, but I can tell you my companies owners do care and thats why they have these rules

 

[Uncle Al]

Musky needs to get back to the office and show a little leadership by example starting with moving his office into the men's room ..... that way he can talk all the sh** he wants and nobody will notice .... other than the offensive odor .....

 

[dangh]

Would they cry more or less when they were told they would need to be wage competitive with someone from Arkansas willing to work for $10 an hour, or someone from mexico for $2 an hour, or china for $1 an hour?

You have no idea how remote work works, really. Many high tech companies allows remote work (I was in office twice in last 3 years) and no, people from Mexico, china or India are not ANY competition or a worry in the slightest.
The only issue with cheap other - country workforce in perspective of remote work is made up by people which like to spread fud.

just fyi: if an office is based in country X, then if this office hire a person from country Y, this office HAVE to pay that person money, taxes, insurance same way as if they were hired in country X.
And person from country Y which is hired by them have to pay income tax in their country of residence which often is quite high because amount he earns is higher than average.
And there were always a way to work with another country contractors... but remote work policy wont change that whatsoever.

So calm yourself, remote work differs from office work only in quality of coffee, reduced commute time, and not having to smile to any annoying person who always wants to ask you something in middle of you working on your tasks.

 

[Endymio]

remote work differs from office work only in quality of coffee, reduced commute time, and not having to smile to any annoying person

Nothing could be further from the truth. The argument that the home environment is essentially identical to the office is an example of what absurdities the human mind can rationalize, when it wishes to believe something. The two couldn't possibly be more different. How would you not expect that to influence quality of work?

The reality is more complex, and best summed up by this research:

► Results indicate that the telecommuting environmental effects on productivity depend on the task.
► Telecommuting has a negative impact on productivity of dull tasks.
► Telecommuting has a positive impact on productivity of creative tasks.

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0167268112000893

just fyi: if an office is based in country X, then if this office hire a person from country Y, this office HAVE to pay that person money, taxes, insurance same way as if they were hired in country X.

No again. The reality is that laws differ by nation, but in the US, at least, the exact opposite is generally true. A worker is defined by where they work, not where they report to.

 

[Ohnooze]

I swear I don't think most the people in the work force today would have survived 20 or 30 years ago.
People are not more productive at home. That's a bunch of crap and so are these studies.
I think working from home is great if you have that option. I plan on doing just that in the next year or so but omg the people crying about having to go to the office....learn to adult. Not everything is about you. Life is not about making everything more convenient for you . Companies don't exist for you personal happiness. If it's that big of a deal then quit and find a new job or start your own business. Why do people think they are owed something? Want to get paid? Then you do what you got to do. If you want to sit at home or your local Starbucks and work from there then make a move to a company that will allow that but OMG stop acting like everyone owes you something. I seriously can't stand this "it's all about me" generation of lazy self entitled children. Grow up already.

 

[Rudyduu]

People crying over having to put on pants....

No they aren't crying. You're missing the entire point of forcing employees to do something that's unnecessary, just because. No reason was given for removing remote work. If a person is doing a good job while working remotely why make them come into the office?

 

[bandit8623]

No they aren't crying. You're missing the entire point of forcing employees to do something that's unnecessary, just because. No reason was given for removing remote work. If a person is doing a good job while working remotely why make them come into the office?

they own the company and have the right to tell employees what to do. own your own company and you can do what you want. and yes they are basicly crying. instead of bitching find a new job if you dont like it

 

[toooooot]

I dont think working from home is good/profitable for all cases and companies.
Most likely it fits some much better than working from office while
is completely not fitting for others.
Besides, some people get easily destructed
when they have access to their home toys.