U. Delaware Faces ‘Backlash’ for Wanting Employees to Return to In-Office Work
“All of that adds up to more carbon emissions, more strain on local infrastructure, and less time that thousands of people can spend with their actual communities.”
Someone should tell these people it’s 2026.
The College Fix reports:
U. Delaware endures ’employee backlash’ for return-to-work mandate years after COVID
The University of Delaware wants its professional and administrative staff back in campus offices “at least four days a week,” but is facing “backlash” for the decision formally announced at the beginning of the month.
The requirement doesn’t even take effect until the end of next June.
According to the Spotlight Delaware, affected UD employees claim the move “was made without their involvement and would significantly impact them professionally, personally and financially.”
A petition started early last month calling for “transparency, collaboration, and evidence-based workplace decisions” regarding UD’s decision has the support of 529 people, which includes 383 “staff” and 54 faculty. Over half are anonymous.
Concerns and complaints in the petition include “unpaid commute time,” the impact of inflation, and that employees have “built long-term childcare, elder care, school logistics, and family routines” around the current work-from-home model.
The Spotlight report notes an employee even invoked climate change: “All of that adds up to more carbon emissions, more strain on local infrastructure, and less time that thousands of people can spend with their actual communities.”
The petition concludes by saying “The University of Delaware asks its employees to make decisions grounded in evidence, thoughtful analysis, and a commitment to continuous improvement. We respectfully ask that the University apply those same principles to decisions affecting its own workforce.
“We deserve a transparent, evidence-based, and equitable process, and we ask for the opportunity to be heard before decisions that materially affect our work, our finances, our health, and our well-being become permanent.”
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Comments
LOL
As my better half pointed out: They have nine months to find another job.
“unpaid commute time”? Excuse me? Do they also want to be paid for the time it takes to do laundry? These children need to grow up.
“Where’s my clothing allowance?!”
(A personal incident of culture shock occurred when I visited colleagues in England and discovered a company car was one of the employment perks of even the low-level white-collar techs.)
Getting up early? Driving to work? Supervision? What? You crazy?