New CEO Disrupts Lennox Employees' Work/Life Balance - Anonymous employee Lennox International Employee Review

Leadership did not keep its word to Lennox employees to not disrupt the work/life balance that was achieved at Lennox International (2020-Summer 2023). 2020 was a tough year for most businesses due to the Covid-19 pandemic. To weather the storm, Lennox laid off employees and temporarily cut paychecks. In 2021, the company bounced back (financially) and restored our full paychecks. 2021 and 2022 were successful years for the company, with employees working 100% remotely which eventually led to a 3-2 hybrid work week (2022). We were told that employee surveys revealed that we believed the 3-2 hybrid work week was a happy medium in achieving work/life balance. During this period, employees were promoted and milestones were celebrated within the company, just as usual. In July 2023, the CEO (A. Maskara) blindsided us with his mandate of the new 4-1 hybrid work schedule, with an option to work remotely on Friday (starting mid-September). Employees were very upset by the move and overwhelmed HR with emails expressing our discontent with the sudden change. Maskara held a Teams town hall where he only answered 2 questions pertaining to the new work schedule, but over 70% of prescreened questions were about the new work schedule. He further insulted our intelligence by citing a barking dog in the background of an employee working remotely, as one of the reasons why we're returning to office. The delivery didn't sound convincing or genuine, so I don't believe his claim to be true. Maskara claims that employees must be on site to properly build relationships and careers, yet there were countless promotions shared company-wide during 2021-23. We also have been fed the idea that in order to fully experience and preserve the company culture, we must all gather in the office. I guess we're to forget the countless celebrations and recognitions that were announced during 2021-23. I have lost confidence in executive leadership and am disheartened that Lennox refuses to join the 21st century and embrace the idea of remote work (especially since Lennox prospered while we worked remotely). Lennox was once a great place to work, with a passion for innovation and forward-thinking in HVAC production. It saddens and baffles me that Lennox prefers to stay in the dark ages of business by clinging to old beliefs of what makes a company successful. I'm disappointed that I most likely will not retire from Lennox, as originally hoped. There's just too much opportunity outside of Lennox to stay and accept silly in-office attendance expectations.