A billionaire mining boss has admitted he likes to keep his staff “captive” in company offices, adding they should not be able to go out for coffee.
Chris Ellison, 67, whose fortune is reported to be worth $1.2 billion, is the chief executive of Perth-based Mineral Resources.
Mr Ellison already banned his staff from working from home last year and now wants them to stay in the office all day, without even popping out for a quick cappuccino.
“I want to keep them captive all day long, I don’t want them to leave the building,” he said at the MinRes fiscal year 24 financial results presentation on Thursday.
“And we do that, so I don’t want them to walk down the street to get a cup of coffee, we realized a few years ago how much that costs, going out for a walk at lunchtime.”
Instead, Ellison has made sure staff want to stay in his office by equipping it with amenities including a restaurant, a daycare center that costs just $20 a day and can accommodate 105 children, and a gym, as well as in-house psychologists.
“We have other facilities that keep them stuck there,” he said.
While many workplaces are offering hybrid work-from-home arrangements, Ellison said more companies needed to follow suit and bring staff back to the office full-time.
Chris Ellison, 67, who is reportedly worth about $1.2 billion, is the managing director of Perth-based Mineral Resources.
Mr Ellison has added facilities to his Perth head office (pictured) including a childcare centre and gym to ensure staff remain in the office during the working day.
“I hope everyone else will join this project as soon as possible,” he said.
“We can’t have people working three days a week and getting paid five days a week, or even four days a week.”
The father of six grew up in a lower-class family in New Zealand and was ranked No. 49 on Forbes’ 2024 list of Australia’s 50 Richest.
Ellison’s comments come after Australia’s richest person, Gina Rinehart, splurged around $240 million on an office tower for her staff, a move that will strike fear into the hearts of those who still love working from home.
Ms Rinehart purchased 175 Eagle Street in Brisbane’s CBD from Charter Hall, a real estate investment trust specialising in office buildings.
The sale of the 19-storey A-list building, which boasts “stunning views of the Brisbane River and Kangaroo Point”, signals a tentative return to high-end offices among big-name employers.
Vacancies in luxury office buildings that surged during the Covid pandemic when most administrative staff worked from home are only now starting to fill up again.