Dell Technologies is facing rising discontent within its global workforce, as employees cite increasing work pressure, job insecurity, and frustration with rigid return-to-office (RTO) mandates. According to findings from the company’s recent internal “Tell Dell” survey—reported by Bloomberg—morale has significantly dipped, raising red flags for leadership amid a broader post-layoff recovery effort.
The company’s Employee Net Promoter Score (eNPS), a key metric for measuring employee satisfaction and loyalty, has plummeted to 32, down from 63 in 2023 and 48 last year. The steep fall follows an aggressive internal transformation effort, including roughly 25,000 job cuts in the past two years and a renewed focus on deploying AI-driven solutions across business functions.
Respondents to the survey, conducted earlier this quarter, voiced concerns over a host of issues, from mounting “AI workload burnout” to the perceived erosion of psychological safety. Several employees expressed frustration with what they described as a growing “disconnect between leadership and frontline realities”, particularly around messaging related to productivity expectations and return-to-office policies.
“There’s constant pressure to show physical presence and over-deliver,” one anonymous employee told Bloomberg, “even when the work itself is more suited to hybrid or remote structures.”
Despite the overall decline in morale, one area showed relative strength: managerial relationships. Dell’s Leader Net Promoter Score held steady at a robust 76, indicating continued trust in direct supervisors. This suggests that while employees are losing faith in top-down decision-making, many still find support and validation within their immediate teams.
Dell is one of several tech companies enforcing stricter return-to-office mandates in 2025, amid a broader industry shift that seeks to rebuild in-person culture. However, this push has coincided with heightened workloads due to AI integration and leaner post-layoff teams—leaving many employees feeling squeezed.
The tension is emblematic of a larger debate within corporate HR: how to balance innovation demands with workforce wellbeing.
“AI is being positioned as a lever for efficiency, but it’s also creating new stress points,” noted a Dell team lead in the survey. “We’re being asked to move faster, adapt to new tools, and handle more responsibilities with fewer people. It’s overwhelming.”
HR Responds: Acknowledgement and Recovery Steps
In a response to the internal feedback, Jenn Saavedra, Chief Human Resources Officer at Dell, acknowledged the decline in employee sentiment and committed to rebuilding trust through a series of initiatives. These include:
- Quarterly feedback sessions to ensure ongoing dialogue
- Greater managerial transparency around strategy and priorities
- Revamped listening mechanisms for real-time employee input
“We know we have work to do,” Saavedra said in an internal note shared with CNBC. “Our people are our greatest strength, and we are committed to making their experience better.”
Still, for many employees, the path to recovery remains uncertain. The compounding effect of layoffs, shifting work models, and evolving role expectations has created an environment of persistent tension—especially for hybrid workers navigating blurred lines between productivity and presenteeism.
The results from Dell’s internal survey echo sentiments seen across the technology sector, where aggressive AI adoption, economic volatility, and restructured work norms are redefining employee experience.