The billionaire boss who banned WFH wants to stop staff leaving the office for coffee

A billionaire mining boss who has already banned working from home has said he wants to stop company staff “going on the road for a cup of coffee”.

Chris Ellison, chief executive of Australian miner Mineral Resources, said he was trying to make the Perth headquarters as attractive as possible because he didn’t want staff to “leave the building”.

He said, “I want to hold them captive all day. I don’t want him to leave the building.

“I don’t want them to go down the road for a cup of coffee. We kind of realized a few years ago how much that costs, wandering around lunchtime.”

He said the headquarters has a restaurant, a gym and “other amenities that keep them glued there.”

Mr Ellison, who is worth $1.2bn (£900m) according to Forbes, told analysts on an earnings call: “I have a policy of not working from home. I wish everyone else would accept this, the sooner the better.

“We can’t have people working three days a week and getting paid five days a week.”

As well as on-site nurses and doctors, the company has nine psychologists on its payroll to deal with mental health issues and a $20-a-day (£10.34) nursery to help parents juggle busy schedules and childcare costs.

“Leave the little boys next door,” said Mr. Ellison. “We’ll feed them, but mom and dad will work in our office.”

The office is said to have a top chef serving up seafood, Asian fusion and sushi for about $10, a special air filtration system that minimizes germs, water that meets ecological and pesticide-free thresholds, and an art gallery .

Mr Ellison, who is from New Zealand, co-founded Mineral Resources in 2006 as part of a merger of three mining companies. The son of a pig farmer, Mr Ellison began his career as a crane driver after leaving school aged 15.

Companies around the world are hiring so-called experience consultants to make their offices more welcoming, as employees repeatedly return to their desks after the pandemic.

One employer is infusing its office with essential oils to reduce staff stress levels, the BBC said this year, while another is looking at what color schemes motivated workers.

Mr Ellison’s position is unusual in Australia, where about four in 10 employees work from home at least once a week, according to official statistics.

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However, companies in Australia, which this week introduced a right-to-disconnect rule so staff can ignore late-night messages from bosses, are starting to crack down on remote working.

Australian bank ANZ warned last year that employees could receive lower bonuses if they don’t spend at least half of their working week in the office.

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Similar trends are taking place in the UK as bosses fear that working from home is damaging productivity and team culture. While some companies are forcing workers back, others, including large law firms and accountants, are starting to monitor office attendance.

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