Last year, California-based insurer Farmers Group informed employees they could work remotely on a permanent basis, and many planned accordingly, selling their cars or moving to other states.
But the company’s new CEO has other plans: Raul Vargas told employees last month that he’d require the majority of Farmers staff to work in the office three days a week to further “collaboration, creativity and innovation” — and outrage ensued, The Wall Street Journal reported.
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The shift from in-office models amid the pandemic revealed that many Americans value the ability to work from home: In fact, nearly half of 1,700 employees surveyed by SHRM Research last year said they’d “definitely” look for a remote position in their next role.
Farmers Group’s shift will impact roughly 60% of the company’s 22,000 U.S. workers, who took to the company’s internal social-media platform to express their discontent with more than 2,000 comments featuring abundant crying and angry emojis, per the WSJ.
“I was hired as a remote worker and was promised that was the company culture moving forward,” a worker who specializes in medical claims posted. “This is seemingly a power move that is frankly disgusting.”
Another employee in the claims division said they’d sold their home and relocated closer to their grandchildren — a “huge financial decision based on a lie.”
A spokesperson for Farmers told the WSJ that employees will have until September to make necessary arrangements.
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So far, Vargas’ response to the fury has been blunt. Employees told the outlet they received an email that said: “We read all your comments. We understand and we appreciate them. But we’re still moving forward.”