Boss Says He Wants to Hold Workers 'Captive All Day Long'

Chris Ellison already sniffs at his employees working from home. Now, he doesn't even want them going out to get coffee. "I don't want them leaving the building," the head of Australian mining firm Mineral Resources said during a financial earnings report on Wednesday, noting he'd stocked the company's Perth headquarters with plenty of amenities so staffers wouldn't feel the need to. Those amenities include an onsite gym, restaurant, and day care facility, per the BBC.

"Drop their little tykes off next door," the billionaire said. "We've got doctors on board and nurses who are going to feed them, but Mum and Dad will be working in our office." And Mum and Dad shouldn't want to make Starbucks runs during the workday, Ellison insisted. "I don't want them walking down the road for a cup of coffee," he said. "We kind of figured out a few years ago how much that costs." Basically, "when I get them first [thing] in the morning, I want to hold them captive all day long," he added of his workers.

Ellison, who was paid $4.1 million in 2023, has slammed telecommuting in the past, and last year, he formally banned working from home at Mineral Resources, per the Guardian. "I have a no-work-from-home policy," he said. "I wish everyone else would get on board with that—the sooner the better. The industry can't afford it." He also criticized more flexible working hours that many businesses had implemented during the pandemic. "We can't have people working three days a week, and picking up five days a week pay, or [even] four days," he said. (More Australia stories.)