Cameo is giving workers a $10,000 raise to return to the office

Table of Contents

• The celebrity video messaging company Cameo is offering its employees a $10,000 bonus to return to the office.
• The company's CEO, Steven Galanis, stated that the pay increase and additional benefits have improved productivity and helped attract new employees.
• Galanis said to BI that coming to the office requires more from employees, so it makes sense to pay them more.

Four days a week at its headquarters in Chicago.

CEO Steven Galanis stated to Business Insider that the recently announced pay raises and additional benefits - including catered lunch, paid parking, and a free gym membership - have already increased productivity and recruitment efforts.

All employees from Chicago attended the first four required workdays without missing a single day, and in just a few days, they were able to accomplish more sales outreach than they had in the previous six months combined, he explained.

It's been incredibly impressive to see the reception we've received from applicants," Galanis said. "People are emerging from all corners in their desire to work for us now, and former employees are eager to return, which is truly outstanding.

Galanis stated that the company now employs 50 people, with roughly half residing in the Chicago area.

Those who don't live within commuting distance of Chicago won't be eligible for the raise unless they relocate there, and will not need to report to the office, he said. If Cameo establishes satellite locations in other cities in the future, Galanis said the in-office work raise option would then apply to them as well.

Galanis thinks the company succeeds with in-office brainstorming and participation, but he wanted to try to bring his employees back to the company headquarters in a natural way.

We wanted this to be a benefit that creates a sense of urgency rather than a penalty," Galanis said. "If we're asking you to come in four days a week, we're essentially asking more of you than if you didn't have to work that extra day. So, it's only fair that we compensate you more for it.

The $10,000 raise is in contrast to the return-to-work mandates of other companies. However, Galanis stated that he prefers in-office collaboration, a sentiment shared by many top executives.

The new policy will take effect next month.

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first reported in October.

For some employees, there wasn't enough workspace available for them to return to.

Galanis said he understands the strong criticism from some executives about working from home - "what Jamie said is something that myself and many other CEOs have felt before or talked about in private," he said - and he agrees with the need for some large companies to be more strict in their approach to returning to the office. However, that just wasn't the case for him.

I don't think I can decide what's best for another company's culture," Galanis said. "But I do know how our company operates, and I know how much we value our employees, so this decision was the right fit for us.

on Microsoft Start.