Tesla Investigates Absenteeism by Visiting the Home of Some Sick Employees. Are Home Visits by Management a Necessary Step or an Invasion of Privacy?

The world’s most famous electric vehicle company, Tesla, under its lead person Elon Musk, is not a stranger to controversies. Be it a bold business act or producing cars in a very different way, for sure Tesla would be under the spotlight. While sending managers to the homes of some employees who are either absent from work or calling in sick, especially those working at the Gigafactory in Berlin, has stirred serious debate in Germany, the company says it is trying to check on employees and reduce absenteeism. This move by the company has made workers and unions roar in anger.

What happened at Tesla’s Factory?

It was reported in mid-August 2024 that a surprising number of workers at Tesla’s Berlin Gigafactory were on sick leave. As many as 17 percent of the staff said they were ill, compared with only 5 percent, which is considered typical for Germany’s auto sector. 

Confronted with this situation, Tesla took a drastic measure; they started sending managers to the homes of employees who called in sick. Apparently, they needed to verify whether the sick leaves were valid or just a ruse to get out of work and send a clear message to the workforce.

According to sources, German manager for Tesla, André Thierig, said that the visits were to encourage employees into an effective work culture. The firm’s belief underpinning its management was the notion of being overwhelmed by the German social system as certain workers took unnecessary absences due to illness. 

This was echoed even by Tesla’s HR director Erik Demmler, who at the same time noted that in several cases, employees slammed doors in the faces of the visiting managers or even threatened to call the police.

The Reaction from the Employees

Needless to say, many of the employees were not pleased with the moves that Tesla did. In the eyes of those people who were visited at their residences without notice, the act seemed rude and threatening. It was disturbing enough for the fact that managers had resorted to visiting them in their residence, and when a part of them was already feeling under the weather, it was well nigh close to unnerving for most. 

A few of them even resorted to calling the police when they found their bosses at the door of their residence, intimidated by the surprise encounter that awaited them.

Tesla Inc. Management Makes a Case

Tesla Inc., however, has been defending its actions. For them, these were some straightforward steps to address what they considered strange absenteeism issues. Tesla’s managers had cited that checking up on employees away on sick leave is not out of the ordinary in many industries, especially when there is suspected abuse of the system.

Thierig emphasised that in the system of Tesla, work conditions are the same from one shift and day to the other; hence, there should not be any big differences in absence unless the system is abused. He pointed out that the high sick leaves taken on Fridays and during late shifts were found more, suggesting probably some of the workers may have been abusing the system and were not ill.

Bonus Scheme

Another innovation was the bonus. Here, Tesla provided a €1,000 bonus if workers maintained attendance above 95%. This was an incentive scheme to reward those employees who came regularly. Management felt these employees were fulfilling their responsibility to the team.

Reaction of Labor Unions and Criticisms

The labour unions, especially IG Metall, reacted quite promptly and sharply to the set of procedures. IG Metall is Germany’s biggest and most powerful union covering industrial workers in the metal and electrical sectors, all automotive industries included. They said high absenteeism is a bad reflection of the system but proves that working conditions in Tesla’s Gigafactory are deteriorating. 

According to the union, the workers were overworked, hence under so much pressure and unsafe conditions that they eventually suffered several health-related problems due to these physical and mental activities.

The union insists that this only made the “culture of fear” worse. Not insisting that the real underlying causes, like an overcrowded workload and the lack of proper safety measures, be addressed, Tesla management was perceived to be cowing them into attending by any means necessary, even if their health/ well-being suffers.

Tesla History of Workplace Controversies

For a long time, Tesla’s work culture has come under the scanner. It is always known to be quite demanding, compelling one to produce results in no time. Musk has famously been saying that employees should be ready to work for long hours and has nurtured a “hardcore” work culture, he said. In fact, he has even indicated that workers should be ready to sleep on the factory floor if need be to get the job done.

Criticisms were renewed in 2022, this time when Musk took control of Twitter-now X. He was called to respond to the high rate of absences and empty offices, especially at a time when he had just fired almost half of the workers on the payroll. Sometimes, management policies are said to be geared to maximise productivity at the cost of employee’s personal satisfaction or well-being in both organisations.

An Examination of Tesla’s Work Culture

Tesla’s work culture can easily be summed up as pressure driven, very high in expectation, and results oriented. Even though this motivated the company to amass incredible feats in a very short period, at times it has created tension between the management and employees. The Germany situation is just one of the many challenges that Tesla has encountered with regard to its desire for productivity against employees’ welfare.

The absenteeism in the Berlin Gigafactory is bound to be due to the combination of various factors.

Aggressive work culture within Tesla may also lead to employee burnout. This is because long hours and high demands can easily prove burdensome for workers, and the health of these workers may be facing significant challenges owing to overwork. Overwork may emerge as one of the leading factors responsible for physical and mental health concerns, which in turn increases the possibility of sick leave.

There is also IG Metall’s concern about a health and safety risk. If the safety of the health and well-being of employees is threatened, then illness would seem a likely excuse for absenteeism or even a wish not to get into unsanitary conditions. Providing that minimum standards of safety exist would make workers feel safer while at work and thus could help in controlling absenteeism.

It is a reminder to check the strings of communication and trust between the worker and the management while sending managers to employees’ homes. 

Instead of taking the issue of absenteeism into court, Tesla has taken a more aggressive way forward, which only widens the holes further. It means mistrust because the company thinks their workers are taking advantage of the system, and the workers feel they are being accused unfairly.

What is Wrong with Tesla’s Approach?

Checkup on employees at home when they are on sick leave is a significant invasion of privacy. Traditionally, sick leave forms a legally protected right that most countries have instituted, and Germany in particular. Employers have no legal basis for checking up with employees at home unless there is concrete evidence of wrongdoing.

Bringing managers to the doorsteps of workers can create a culture of fear rather than trust and cooperation. It triggers the feeling among the employees that they are being watched and reviewed at every step, which further adds to the stress of the employees and disorients them.

Where other alternatives are ignoring the root causes for absenteeism, such as overwork and unsafe conditions, Tesla management has chosen to stay at checking attendance in force. It does not resolve the problems at the root but even worsens the situation by making a more hostile workplace.

What is right about Tesla’s approach?

While home visits are an issue, there are a few aspects of Tesla’s response that could be viewed more positively. Tesla’s leadership is held to be visionary in its commitment to productivity and ensuring a high standard of work. In many words, by addressing absenteeism, they hope to keep the company on track with its aggressive targets.

Providing a bonus to the working individuals with high attendance rates will show that Tesla is interested in rewarding hardworking employees who are regularly present at work. This is a more positive action toward raising attendance than the home visits and will encourage the workers to go to work regularly.

What Can Tesla Do Better?

Tesla’s current approach has indeed been in a tussle with its employees. Instead of dispatching managers to the homes of their employees, Tesla needs to focus on open communication among its workers. Regular sit-downs, an anonymous feedback system, and making the employees feel heard and appreciated would achieve this objective.

If workers are reporting to work because of burnout or too much work, then Tesla has to face the problem head-on. They can lighten their workloads, hire more personnel, or have more time off for relaxation and decreased duty hours.

If people feel that the workplace environment or the products of Tesla are not safe, this might be an area where Tesla needs improvement. They should do safety audits, increase worker training, or introduce a new safety structure that does not permit risks.

Tesla should ensure that work environment support is in place, both on a physical and mental level. This could be through wellness programs, mental health resources, or just a better balance of work life.

Visits by Tesla employees on sick leave at home, showcasing the intense debate over workplace ethics and how the company treats workers, have become a cornerstone. Even if Tesla believes that its actions curtail absenteeism, the employee and union response has shown that there might be more to the issue.

This is where Tesla should start to address the absenteeism at its cause. Some of the factors include overwork, burnout, and safety at work. Then, they can provide an environment that is more open, supportive, and communicative such that employees appreciate their work and therefore, become enthusiastic to come into the workplace rather than being pressured or fearful of coming into work.