The German software giant has changed direction, and more than 5,000 employees have signed an internal petition saying they feel 'betrayed'.
ADVERTISEMENTWhen a CEO promises that the firm is "a 100% flexible and trust-based workplace as the norm, not the exception," it is difficult to change course. That is why one of Europe's biggest tech companies SAP is facing more than 5,000 angry employees as the company is turning its back on CEO Christian Klein's 2021 words above by ordering employees back to the office.
The new guidelines, announced last month, order staff, who work around the world, to work in an office or on-site with a customer three days a week starting in April.
Representatives of the employees in Europe called the requirement to be back in the office unreasonable because staff had been told they could continue remotely.
The anger with the new rules has brought about an internal petition, signed by more than 5,000 employees in less than two weeks.
"We feel betrayed by a company that until recently encouraged us to work from home, only to ask for a radical change in direction," Bloomberg News reported, saying the internal letter says employees are threatening to look for new jobs rather than go back into offices.
SAP Chief Executive Officer Christian Klein said: "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," Bloomberg reported.
The company also said in a statement: "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."
The German multinational software company recently announced that it is restructuring 8,000 jobs to shift their focus to AI.
