The Wall Street Journal’s parent company is ordering staff back to the office because ‘screens deny us the subtleties of body language’
We have been repeatedly reminded over the past year that there is no humane or easy way to announce layoffs. Nor can we solve the tensions that surround a return of office.
However, it is not easy to layoff employees and then reaffirm your return to office demands the next. That’s exactly what happened at Dow Jones offices last week.
News Corp. CEO Robert Thomson sent a note to staff on Thursday echoing demands for employees to return to the office—headquartered in Midtown New York—at least three days a week. The memo was sent to staff on Thursday. leaked to Insider Thomson called office attendance “an absolute imperative” in the Thomson Report. The day following was a great day. Dow Jones laid off a reported 2% of staffThere are 22 employees who are union-represented.
News Corp. declined to comment.
baby just had her first media layoff :,)
today’s my last day at @marketwatch. i’m so proud of the scoops i put out during my (very!) brief stint here. i just wish i had the time to put out more of them 😭
— shoshana wodinsky (she/her) (@swodinsky) January 11, 2023
Dow Jones is a division in News Corp. that operates the likes the Wall Street JournalMarketWatch, Barron’s, & Barron’s. All of the above publications, as well as the New York PostThe buildings at 1211 Avenue of the Americas house both.
The Wall Street JournalIt has been following the footsteps of its peer publication across Times SquareSeparately, he drew a line on RTO plans in September following the New York Times’ own RTO mandates floundered. The Journal The staff were told that they would be expected return to the office three times a week, starting Nov. 1.
It is quite apparent that this has not been the case to the extent the company expected. Thomson wrote this week calling on all executives to consult with their managers, who were to ensure “full compliance”.
He said, “There’s some flexibility in the workplace environment, but it is not unlimited.”
News Corp.’s latest effort to get people back to their desks is happening after it renewed its lease agreement at its Midtown headquarters.
RTO mandate after the laying off of 120 to 150 people is not exactly a cheerful message.
Many companies have attempted to lure employees back by offering lunch boxes, pizzas, happy hours and other corporate out-of touch isms. Thomson was very interested in the notion of a lost culture. He also believed that screens “deny us the subtleties and nuances of knowing glances and body language.” A dynamic workplace environment is full of spontaneity, serendipity, and opportunity.
Gallup consultants Nikki Morin and Heather Barrett wrote last year about the idea that bringing employees physically together cultivates some sort of important social bond These things simply cannot be duplicated in a digital virtual world.
“The reality,” they wrote“Is that culture never equaled the office?” Gallup data show that, despite significant lip service and investment in ‘company culture’ over the years, there’s very little to show for it.”
This story originally appeared on Fortune.com
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