Nearly half of the staff working at Grindr have reportedly quit after the company ended its remote working practices.
Last month, the LGBTQ dating app mandated staff return to the office.
The policy change gave workers two weeks to either relocate to their team's newly created “hub” cities in New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, San Francisco, and Washington D.C., so they could attend the office twice a week or leave the company with severance, according to the Communications Workers of America (CWA) union.
Eighty of Grindr's 178 workers were forced to leave the company, while many hired as remote workers were told to relocate to new “hub” cities.
The CWA claimed the return-to-work policy was retaliation for efforts to unionize at the company. Just two weeks before the mandate was announced, a majority of employees filed to organize a union.
“Rather than recognize the union, the company issued a new return-to-office policy requiring staff to relocate or quit,” A CWA spokesperson stated.
The union has filed an unfair labor practice charge against Grindr with the National Labor Relations Board.
A Grindr spokesperson said the union's claims “have no merit,” adding, “We look forward to returning to the office in a hybrid model in October and further improving productivity and collaboration for our entire team.”
Tensions Between Remote Workers and Companies Increasing
This latest dispute highlights increasing tensions between employers and workers accustomed to working from home after millions of white-collar workers were forced to work remotely due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Seventy-three percent of organizations reported challenges getting workers to return to the office, according to The Conference Board's August survey of 185 US HR executives.
According to the survey, this pointless push for a return to the office may hinder efforts to retain workers, with 71% of employers mandating on-site work reporting difficulty keeping workers.
Many large companies have claimed they will crack down on employees not complying with return-to-office mandates after Labor Day.
In August, Amazon CEO Andy Jassy said employees were free to disagree with the company's policy requiring them to be in the office at least three days a week. However, if they don't comply, their futures at Amazon might not be bright. Weeks prior to this, the company had reportedly sent emails to some employees informing them that their badge swipes showed they were not coming in as often as required.
Meanwhile, according to a report from Business Insider, Meta has told employees that those already assigned to an office must come in three days a week by September 5. Employees not complying with this could face a lower performance rating, disciplinary action, and, if not addressed, dismissal.
Source: (CNN).