Disney is asking more employees to return to the office, Business Insider has learned.
The Mouse House told some remote product and tech employees on Monday that they’ll have to work from an office four days a week, a person familiar with the change said.
Many Disney employees already work in person four days a week, though there have been exceptions for staffers on certain tech teams. That’s changing with this new mandate.
Employees who don’t follow Disney’s in-person work policy can be fired. In practice, the RTO policy hasn’t always been uniformly enforced, staffers have told Business Insider. Some say their managers strictly monitor the four-day rule, while others say their bosses are more lax.
Disney’s new RTO push is a way to reinforce its current in-person work policy, rather than a major shift in strategy, the person familiar with the change said.
Several other major tech and media companies have tightened their in-office work requirements.
NBCUniversal expects most staffers to work in person four days a week, while Paramount Skydance has a general five-day requirement with exceptions. Paramount’s Phase 2 RTO push, which applies to US workers assigned to offices outside New York City or Los Angeles, went into effect on Monday.
Disney’s renewed focus on RTO comes as CEO Josh D’Amaro nears the six-month mark in the top job.
D’Amaro has invested in Disney+ by integrating Hulu features and is seeking to make the flagship service a streaming super app with games and merchandise.
Under D’Amaro, the media giant is also leaning into its “One Disney” vision by unifying workflows and teams. As part of that process, Disney did a major round of layoffs in April and let go of more staffers in July as part of a shake-up at ESPN.
