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With the start of the second corona wave, a petition swept through Coop in September. The office workers demanded that they be allowed to do their work at home. The head of the cooperative, Joos Sutter (56), personally summoned the employees of the Basel headquarters. And he gave a lecture.
According to those present, the air was dense and the conversation was characterized by mistrust, according to the “NZZ am Sonntag”. The head office contradicts Coop’s corporate culture, the boss said in no uncertain terms. Sutter subliminally accused employees of just wanting to make themselves comfortable at home.
In front of the boss, in the middle the employees, behind them their superiors
For the sake of their own health and that of their families, clerical employees preferred to do their work at home. Therefore, around 70 younger employees had signed the petition in advance and were summoned to Basel two mornings by the Coop boss, including their superiors.
Then it happened like this: “The CEO is in the front, the head office advocates sit in the middle, and their superiors are in the back. Heats up quickly. When employees counter the CEO, he gives a lecture and makes it clear who’s in charge. The home office is still prohibited. “
Short-term ban
Employees were subliminally accused of using Corona as a pretext for their own ends to push for more flexible work models. Apparently, there was little understanding in the executive suite of the differences between front office and office employees. Sutter relies on compulsory attendance and doesn’t want special regulations.
When asked, Coop’s media office later explained that office workers were also expected to show a degree of internal solidarity: “About 90 percent of our employees work in sales, logistics and production. The home office is generally not possible there. “
However, the ban was short-lived. Since the Federal Council made a corresponding recommendation in October, home office is also not prohibited at Coop. Most of the central office employees return to work from home. The retail giant employs about 90,000 people. (kes)
