Uber raises in-office requirement to three days, claws back distant employees

Uber on Monday informed employees, including some who had been previously approved for distant work, that it can require them to come back to the office three days every week, CNBC has learned. 

“At the same time as the external environment stays dynamic, we’re on solid footing, with a transparent strategy and large plans,” CEO Dara Khosrowshahi told employees within the memo, which was viewed by CNBC. “As we head into this next chapter, I would like to emphasise that ‘good’ is just not going to be adequate — we have to be great.”

Khosrowshahi goes on to say employees must push themselves so the corporate “can move faster and take smarter risks,” and outlined several changes to Uber’s work policy.

Uber in 2022 established Tuesdays and Thursdays as “anchor days” where most employees must spend a minimum of half of their work time in the corporate’s office. Starting in June, employees shall be required within the office Tuesday through Thursday, in keeping with the memo.

That features some employees who were previously approved to work remotely. The corporate said it had already informed affected distant employees.

“After a radical review of our existing distant approvals, we’re asking many distant employees to come back into an office,” Khosrowshahi wrote. “As well as, we’ll hire latest distant roles only very sparingly.”

The corporate also modified its one-month paid sabbatical program, in keeping with the memo. Previously, employees were eligible for the sabbatical after five years at the corporate. That has now been raised to eight years, in keeping with the memo. 

“This program was created when Uber was a much younger company, and when reaching 5 years of tenure was a rare feat,” Khosrowshahi wrote. “Back then, we were within the office five (sometimes more!) days of every week and hadn’t instituted our Work from Anywhere profit.”

Khosrowshahi said the changes will help Uber move faster. 

“Our collective view as a leadership team is that while distant work has some advantages, being within the office fuels collaboration, sparks creativity, and increases velocity,” Khosrowshahi wrote.

The changes come as more corporations within the tech industry cut costs to appease investors after over-hiring throughout the Covid-19 pandemic. Google recently began demanding that employees who were previously approved for distant work also return to the office in the event that they wish to keep their jobs, CNBC reported last week.  

Last yr, Khosrowshahi blamed distant work for the lack of its most loyal customers, who would take ride-sharing as their commute to work. 

“Going forward, we’re further raising this bar,” Khosrowshahi’s Monday memo said. “After a radical review of our existing distant approvals, we’re asking many distant employees to come back into an office. As well as, we’ll hire latest distant roles only very sparingly.”

Uber’s leadership team will monitor attendance “at each team and individual levels to make sure expectations are being met,” Khosrowshahi wrote. 

Following the memo, Uber employees immediately swarmed the corporate’s internal Q-and-A forum, in keeping with correspondence viewed by CNBC. Khosrowshahi said he and Nikki Krishnamurthy, the corporate’s chief people officer, will hold an all-hands meeting on Tuesday to debate the changes.

Many employees asked leadership to reconsider the sabbatical change, arguing that the corporate should honor the unique eligibility policy.

“This is not ‘doing the correct thing’ to your employees,” one worker commented.

Uber didn’t immediately reply to CNBC’s request for comment.

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