A billionaire boss of a mining company has admitted he likes to keep his staff ‘held captive’ in the firm’s offices, adding they shouldn’t be able to go out on coffee breaks.
Chris Ellison, 67, who is reportedly worth about $1.2billion, is the managing director of Mineral Resources, which has its head office in Perth.
Mr Ellison already banned his staff from working from home last year and now wants them to remain in the office for the entire day, not even stepping out for a quick cappuccino.
‘I want to hold them captive all day long, I don’t want them leaving the building,’ he said at the MinRes FY24 Financial Results Presentation on Thursday.
‘And we do that, so I don’t want them walking down the road for a cup of coffee, we kind of figured out a few years ago how much that costs, wandering out around lunchtime.’
Instead, Mr Ellison has ensured staff want to stay in his office by decking it out with features including a restaurant, a creche that costs just $20 a day and can hold 105 kids, and a gym, along with in-house psychologists.
‘We’ve got other facilities that keeps them glued in there,’ he said.
While many workplaces offer hybrid WFH conditions, Mr Ellison said more businesses needed to follow in his footsteps and get staff back into the office full-time.
Chris Ellison, 67, who is reportedly worth about $1.2billion, is the managing director of Mineral Resources, which has its head office in Perth
Mr Ellison has added facilities to his head office in Perth (pictured) such as a creche and gym to ensure staff stay in the office during the work day
‘I wish everyone else would get on board with that, the sooner the better,’ he said.
‘We can’t have people working three days, and picking up five days a week pay, or [even] four days.’
The father-of-six grow up in a lower-class family in New Zealand and was ranked No.49 on Forbes’ Australia’s 50 Richest list of 2024.
Mr Ellison’s comments come after Australia’s richest person Gina Rinehart splurged about $240million on an office tower for her staff in a move that will strike fear into the hearts of those who still love to work from home.
Ms Rinehart bought 175 Eagle Street in Brisbane’s CBD from Charter Hall, a property investment fund specialising in office buildings.
The sale of the 19-floor ‘A-grade’ building, which boasts ‘breathtaking views of the Brisbane River and Kangaroo Point’, signals a tentative return to high-end offices among big-name employers.
Vacancies in plush office blocks which spiked during the Covid pandemic when most white-collar staff worked from home are only now starting to fill up again.
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