‘Self respect’: Ola CEO warns staff about office attendance in stern email
The CEO of rideshare company Ola has reportedly issued a stern warning to staff in an company wide email which has gone viral online.
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A fed-up CEO of a popular rideshare company has reportedly cracked down on staff for their “very poor office attendance” in company-wide email, warning action will be taken against those who have “misused the freedom” and worked from home.
In the stern email, which has since gone viral on social media, Ola CEO and co-founder Bhavish Aggarwal appeared to caution staff to maintain “basic self-respect” and not take advantage of the company.
“Hi all, I’ve been going through our attendance data. It is shocking that a lot of people have very poor attendance,” Mr Aggarwal began the email.
“I would imagine everyone has the basic self-respect to not fleece the company by not even turning up for work. It’s even disrespectful to those colleagues who genuinely work hard and contribute.”
Mr Aggarwal, who co-founded the risdeshare company with Ankit Bhati in India in 2011, went on to remind staff Ola does not have a working-from-home policy, writing it is only for “genuine needs”.
“Monday onwards, a more stringent attendance expectation will start. And those of you who have misused the freedom so far, HR will be having a conversation with you,” he warned.
“The best excuse I’ve heard so far is that the facial recognition system data is wrong. Let’s not insult basic intelligence,” he continued.
“Come to work, do good work and feel a part of Ola’s mission.”
The email has since gone viral online, where many have raised eyebrows over Mr Aggarwal’s decision to analyse his employee’s attendance data.
“Founder going through attendance data? Does he have nothing strategic to look at? What’s the HR Head for?” one person wrote.
“Must go through productivity data associated with job profile and not just attendance or if the employee was present in office or not,” said another.
“And then they crib (sic) that Gen - Z doesn’t want to work for them,” wrote another.
News.com.au has contacted Ola for comment.
Companies push for return to office mandates
It comes amid a renewed push by companies for staff to back into the office full-time and return to pre-pandemic norms.
In September, Amazon called time on working from home when CEO Andy Jassy announced all corporate staff would need to return to the office permanently from January.
Australian betting giant, Tabcorp, also jumped on the bandwagon, telling employees days after Amazon they would be required to return to the office five days a week.
Meanwhile, NSW Premier Chris Minns sparked uproar earlier this year after announcing remote working arrangements introduced during Covid for government workers would come to an end.
The push for employees to abandon their increased flexibility that comes with hybrid working arrangements has seen workers considering quit their jobs.
A study from Randstad, released in October, found that 52 per cent of white collar employees believe working from home, either full-time or a few days a week, is a “fundamental right”.
The research found that although 41 per cent of Australians would hesitantly return to the office if required, nearly one quarter (24 per cent) would start actively searching for another job with a hybrid work arrangement.
In a move that may worry employers, six per cent of employees said they would resign if they weren’t offered a hybrid working arrangement, even if they didn’t have another job lined up.
These sentiments are easily “understandable”, said Angela Anasis, Executive General Manager of Randstad Australia.
“After four years of remote and hybrid work, officer workers feel they have earned the right to work from home and many have made life choices, such as buying a pet or relocating further away from the office based on the assumption that this flexibility was here to stay,” she said.
“It’s no surprise therefore that they’re concerned about this right being stripped away without proper justification.”
Ola shuts down operations in Australia
Earlier this year, Ola, one of the biggest competitors to Uber, abruptly announced it was shutting down its services across Australia.
The rideshare service sent out an email to customers, including in Sydney and Perth, revealing it was “discontinuing operations” from April 12, 2024.
“This means that you will no longer be able to book any rides through your Ola app from that date,” the email read.
“You must not take any rides with any vehicle purporting to be an Ola vehicle or Ola driver from 12th April 2024. Ola has not authorised any driver or any other party to use the Ola brand or provide rides on Ola’s behalf.”
The email did not reveal why Ola was shutting down its services with very little warning.
An Ola spokesperson said its “ride hailing business is growing rapidly, and we remain profitable and segment leaders in India”.
“The future of mobility is electric – not just in personal mobility, but also for the ride-hailing business and there is immense opportunity for expansion in India,” they said.
“With this clear focus, we’ve reassessed our priorities and have decided to shut down our overseas ride-hailing business in its current form in the UK, Australia and New Zealand.
“We remain very excited and focused on our mission to serve one billion Indians. As a technology-first business, leading with innovation, we are confident to spearhead the country’s mobility ambitions and lead the next phase of growth in the industry at large.”
- With NCA NewsWire
Originally published as ‘Self respect’: Ola CEO warns staff about office attendance in stern email
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