Grindr Loses Half its Staff by Forcing Return to Office

Sep 19

Greetings, remote job enthusiasts! If you’re tuning into the latest corporate dramas, Grindr’s recent office manoeuvre will pique your interest. Grindr, best known as an LGBTQ dating app, has found itself at the crux of the remote work debate and it's all a tad soap-opera-esque.

The Grand Announcement: An Office Encore with a Twist

In a surprising turn of events, as reported by CNN. Grindr terminated its remote work policies in early August. The new directive? Employees were given just 2 weeks to decide: either migrate to one of the company’s designated “hub” cities to resume face-to-face work at least twice weekly or bid adieu with a severance package.

These so-called “hub” cities comprised New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, San Francisco, and Washington D.C. The problem is, that a significant number of these employees had originally been hired remotely. So, the relocation demand was totally unacceptable!

Union’s Counterplay:

As of 31 August, the Communications Workers of America (CWA) shed light on some rather telling figures: approximately 80 of Grindr’s 178 employees had to exit stage left due to the abrupt policy shift. That's nearly half the workforce!

The union's concerns weren't just about numbers; they highlighted the haste of the decision, lack of consultations, and overriding health and safety considerations.

The Bottom Line

Grindr's episode serves as a lesson in modern corporate dynamics. Remote work is here to stay and people will leave if you don’t offer them the freedom and flexibility they need!

And with every large corporation stuck in the past demanding a return to work, there are thousands (yes thousands) of other companies that are fully remote.

In fact, I have a list of 1k+ companies that offer fully remote flexibility. Want to see the list? Let me know!