Remote work rebellion: SAP’s RTO push prompts 5,000 employees to sign letter saying they ‘feel betrayed’

“We feel betrayed by a company that until recently encouraged us to work from home, only to ask for a radical change in direction,” according to the letter, which was posted internally and seen by Bloomberg News. The company’s European works council, a group that represents SAP’s employees on the continent, said the requirement to be back in the office was unreasonable after employees had been told they could continue remotely. 

SAP, Europe’s largest software company, outlined a new guidance in early January that will require employees globally to work in an office or on site with a customer three days a week from April. SAP Chief Executive Office Christian Klein has pushed back on the works council’s opposition and said that working from home will cost SAP its culture and teamwork. 

“I’m not a big believer that on a video conference platform you can understand our culture, you can get educated, and you can get enabled to do your job best,” Klein said last week following the company’s financial results.

SAP, in a statement Wednesday, said “striking the right balance between remote and on-site work helps drive productivity, innovation and employee well-being. We’re evolving our flexible work policy to align with best practices in the market and our own experience as a front runner in hybrid work.”

Many companies have increased return-to-office requirements over the last year, replacing employee-friendly incentives like happy hours and commuter subsidies with more punitive measures including disciplinary action or limited career advancement if attendance targets aren’t met. Earlier this month, International Business Machines Corp. told managers they’d be required to move near an office and…