Elon Musk is causing consternation among his new employees.
According toBloomberg News, Twitters new owner is set to cut around 3,700 jobs about half the companys workforce.
Those who remain are also bracing for upheaval.
Musk reportedly intends to scrap the platforms work-from-anywhere policy and mandate returns to offices from Monday.
The U-turn has reignited calls for legal rights to work-from-home on both sides of the Atlantic.
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The policy quickly proved popular with staff.
Twitter gave them further assurances this year.
InMarch, the companyreiterated the pledgeto permit full-time remote work forever.
Musk, however, has been a vocal critic of the approach.
They should pretend to work somewhere else, he replied.
Supporters of the switch argue that WFH negatively impacts productivity, morale, and communication.
Yet moves are afoot to take the decision out of their hands.
Legal rights
InEurope, many workers would balk at Musks demands.
A 2021surveyof over 10,000 office-based workers across eight European countries exposed extremelynegative feelings about ending WFH.
The studyfound thatmost employees want mandatory work from offices to beillegal.
Their hopes may not be in vain.
Among them is the Netherlands, which is poised to make WFH legal right.
Spain has also introduced legal rights for remote workers, while Italy hasregulatedagile work since 2017.
Italys rules were rarely used until the COVID-19 outbreak, whenthe government used the regulation to combat the virus.
Theemployer would only be allowed to decline because of operational reasons.
Employees enthusiasm for mobile working is decreasing.
Indeed, not every move to protect remote working in Europe has been welcomed.
Mixed reactions
In the UK, a newFlexible Working Billhas raised concern from experts.
Johnson-Jones is particularly worried about the impact this will have on workers with caring responsibilities or disabilities.
All employers have a duty of care.
Legal experts have emphasised that employees must provide a safe workplace for remote workers.
That might not be a priority for Elon Musk, but other bosses are more amenable.
Story byThomas Macaulay
Thomas is the managing editor of TNW.
He leads our coverage of European tech and oversees our talented team of writers.
Away from work, he e(show all)Thomas is the managing editor of TNW.
He leads our coverage of European tech and oversees our talented team of writers.
Away from work, he enjoys playing chess (badly) and the guitar (even worse).
