Bob Iger, CEO of Disney, has unveiled a noteworthy new policy for hybrid cast members that is sure to surprise many.
Disney has been enduring a difficult transition period ever since the departure of their former CEO, Bob Chapek, who was fired in November 2022. In an attempt to revive The Walt Disney Company and bring back its “soul,” Bob Iger returned as the CEO. He began making significant changes to the Media & Entertainment Distribution division, including getting rid of Chapek’s right-hand man Kareem Daniel and Chief of Staff/Speech Writer Arthur Bochner.
Now, Iger is taking his mission one step further by introducing a surprising new policy for hybrid cast members. In an email sent out on Monday, January 9th, 2023, he emphasized the importance of in-person collaboration between employees. He wrote:
“In a creative business like ours, nothing can replace the ability to connect, observe and create with peers that come from being physically together – nor the opportunity to grow professionally by learning from leaders and mentors.”
Iger’s policy states that starting the week of March 1st, 2023, all hybrid employees must come into corporate offices four days per week. This shift in policy is unprecedented among large companies such as Disney due to the rise of work-from-home staff during 2020’s COVID-19 pandemic.
The implementation of this decision will likely receive mixed reviews from Disney’s current hybrid Cast Members. However, other major companies have taken aggressive measures recently to reincorporate their remote staff into physical office settings; for example, Twitter and Apple have mandated that their employees return for office hours at least once per week.
It remains unclear how Iger’s mandate will affect overall productivity within The Walt Disney Company, but it certainly has the potential for positive outcomes if implemented without any hitches. If anything, this mandate should provide hope amongst many employees that life will return somewhat back to normal soon when people can meet each other face-to-face instead of having virtual meetings via technology every day at home. It will enable more personal development opportunities among colleagues and reinvigorate those who may have experienced low morale caused by working from home indefinitely over these past few months or years.
