Slawomir Krupa, the chief executive of French banking group Société Générale, has announced a reduction in remote working to one day per week, in a message addressed to all company employees worldwide. On top of a desire to harmonise practices across the group's sales teams, the CEO argues that interaction and proximity are essential. In France, where the group is headquartered, trade unions have launched a campaign and denounced the move as an invitation to leave.
The email sent by the Société Générale CEO on 19 June to 119,000 employees worldwide had the effect of a bombshell. The announcement of the measure, which already applies to countries (out of 60 overall) where teleworking is not subject to collective bargaining, took everyone inside the company by surprise, including employee representatives. “We were not warned and there were no prior meetings,” said Johanna Delestré, CFDT union representative in France.
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Article authors
Antoine Piel
Section Head at Mind HR