Disney CEO Tells Staff to Come in 4 Days a Week

Since returning to the CEO job in November, Bob Iger has said he's looking for ways to energize the Walt Disney Co. On Monday, employees were told that will involve a change in their schedules. Those working a hybrid schedule will have to show up in person at the office four days a week starting March 1, Iger said in a company-wide letter, Deadline reports. It's important for creativity, he wrote. "In a creative business like ours, nothing can replace the ability to connect, observe, and create with peers that comes from being physically together," Iger said, "nor the opportunity to grow professionally by learning from leaders and mentors."

Those four days will be Monday through Thursday, employees were informed. Other companies also are weighing the benefits of assembling the staff against employees' desire to work from home, as many began doing during the pandemic. Most Disney employees have had to come in three days a week; the new policy is stricter than many large companies have enforced, per the New York Times. Such changes aren't always going smoothly: General Motors recently gave up on having employees show up three days a week at the office after they balked, per Axios. (More Walt Disney Co. stories.)