Workers who leave the head office to buy a cup of coffee are costing an Australian mining firm too much money, according to its boss.

Managing director of Mineral Resources Chris Ellison said during a financial results presentation on Wednesday he wants to “hold staff captive all day long”.

“I don’t want them leaving the building,” he said.

The head office in Perth has a restaurant, nine staff psychologists, a gym, and other facilities designed to encourage staff to stay in the office.

“We have a lot of different benefits that we have brought on,” said Mr Ellison, whose company has a strict “no work from home policy”.

"Why have I done that? Because when I get them first thing in the morning, I want to hold them captive all day long. I don’t want them leaving the building.

  • fubarx@lemmy.ml
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    1 month ago

    Google and Facebook already went down this route. Lots of amenities on-site (at least, in their headquarters). But they were more used as carrots to induce people to join the company and stay. The stick approach of ‘you can’t leave’ is an interesting variation.

    Let’s see how long before the ‘apology/I was misquoted/retiring to spend more time with family’ tour kicks off…

    Edit: https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/article/2024/aug/29/arizona-wells-fargo-worker-death

    • GreyEyedGhost@lemmy.ca
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      30 days ago

      Where I live, the regulations specifically say that employees are allowed to go offsite during their breaks, doubtless because of some asshole like this in the past. I’d be unsurprised if they don’t have the same rules in Australia. Sure, incentivize them to stick around, but never say the breaking the law part out loud.

  • catloaf@lemm.ee
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    1 month ago

    I’m guessing they provide coffee on-site then? But he seems to be ignoring the value of just taking a break and going for a walk. It’s a critical part of how our brains work. Ignoring that is spending a dollar to save a dime.

    • themeatbridge@lemmy.world
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      1 month ago

      That seems to be the main thrust of the interview. Employees leaving the building is bad for productivity, therefore I provide a variety of services, food, and support inside the building. Employees don’t have to ever leave, which boost productivity.

      Whether or not that is true, that’s another matter. In fact, I would hazard a guess that the CEO’s statements are all “I want” statements precisely because he isn’t interested in debating the actual effect on employees. Is it more productive? Does the data support the expense? Doesn’t matter, he wants it.

      I find it helps me be more creative to leave my working space for a change of scenery, but it also helps me focus on mundane tasks to have things at my fingertips to avoid leaving my workspace. I doubt there’s one universal answer, but a workplace that provides coffee and food isn’t preventing employees from leaving the building, it’s encouraging them to stay.

      But I also work from home. I wouldn’t work for a company with a strict in-office policy, even if they provided coffee and daycare.

  • Flying Squid@lemmy.worldM
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    1 month ago

    The head office in Perth has a restaurant, nine staff psychologists, a gym, and other facilities designed to encourage staff to stay in the office.

    Maybe reducing the hostility from management might require fewer staff psychologists? Just a thought.

    • fluxion@lemmy.world
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      1 month ago

      Not likely:

      “Why have I done that? Because when I get them first thing in the morning, I want to hold them captive all day long. I don’t want them leaving the building.”

      Talk about saying the quiet part out loud

  • Track_Shovel@slrpnk.net
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    1 month ago

    Ellison: grand wave of the hand y’know what this company needs? A place for our workers to live on site. We should build housing for them! The houses are our property and we can’t let them live there for free, so we need to charge them rent to cover ‘upkeep’. They will need food to eat so we should create a company store on site! We have to cover the costs of food, so we will have to charge them exorbitant prices due to ‘shipping’

    • Drusas@fedia.io
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      1 month ago

      Why pay real money when they’re using it at our store? Just give them company scrips they can use right here on site!

    • AnarchoSnowPlow@midwest.social
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      1 month ago

      “it would be far more efficient to create company scrip to pay them with, it’s not like they need anything we don’t provide right here.”

  • WindyRebel@lemmy.world
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    1 month ago

    Why have I done that? Because when I get them first thing in the morning, I want to hold them captive all day long. I don’t want them leaving the building.

    Then he goes on to talk about child care on site. He also mentioned having all their food and stuff there (which I assume they have to pay for and it’s not provided).

    You want slaves, dude. Just use plain English and stop with corp speak. He probably wants them to sleep there too and just build their lives around “the company” who is their “family”. Fucking hate this bullshit.

    • marcos@lemmy.world
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      1 month ago

      That “captive” word is quite plain. You are the one overlooking it, this is not your normal corporate-speak.

  • Damage@feddit.it
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    1 month ago

    Wait, you guys leave the workplace for coffee break? In my country we get 2 10-minute breaks, one in the morning, one in the afternoon, but we get our coffee from the coffee machine