No Mr Buberl!
Last week the four trade unions representing employees in AXA Belgium issued a newsletter expressing their dismay at AXA Group’s unilateral decision to make colleagues across the world work a minimum of three days in the office per week, regardless of local business requirements. Unite in AXA in the UK fully support our Belgian colleagues and we have translated the newsletter and reissued it to express our solidarity with the demand that Group in Paris reconsider the decision.
Deborah Close Said,
October 13, 2025 @ 9:10 am
I have proudly worked for AXA for 16 years and value the work I/we do and planned to see out my working life here. I’m writing to share a candid perspective on the proposed policy mandating three days in the office. If this goes ahead, I will seriously consider seeking opportunities elsewhere. This is not just my view; I know it is shared by many, if not all my colleagues.
Key concerns
Mental wellbeing and personal costs:
Long commutes reduce time for focused work, family, and self-care, increasing daily stress.
Travel time disrupts sleep and recovery, elevating fatigue and burnout risk over time. This burden disproportionately affects caregivers, people with disabilities/medical conditions, and those with long commutes.
Effectiveness and engagement:
When goals are clear and accountability is strong, flexible and remote work can sustain or boost focus, productivity, and energy.
Modern collaboration tools enable strong outcomes without daily in-office presence; for many people/ teams, the morale and wellbeing costs of mandatory in-office days outweigh the benefits.
Financial and organizational impact:
The policy would impose personal financial costs in an era where every penny counts.
It would also generate indirect costs for AXA, including recruiting, training, increased sick/personal days, and productivity losses from burnout and disengagement.
Sharon Said,
October 17, 2025 @ 8:11 am
I have worked at AXA for a really long time, & whilst I haven’t always agreed with some of the decisions made initially, I have always got on board with them, however the three day in office policy is difficult for me to understand, and after speaking to other staff member, I fear it may push many of them to consider other opportunities elsewhere.
My biggest concern is wellbeing and mental health: while AXA prioritises work–life balance I fear that the proposed change will negatively impact this. To some people this the is “only one more day” however this “one more day” impacts people in many different ways as we all have different things going on. The pressures of travelling to the office can cut short peoples time with their families, make caregiving decisions difficult & contribute to financial worries that a lot of us are already experiencing. All of these impact mental health.
AXA are a worldwide company with excellent IT tools which make working from home whilst staying connected with our teams easy & I think this has shown since the governments compulsory stay at home policy from COVID. This was implemented so well by AXA & I feel that people returning to the office more could be seen as a wasted cost for AXA. People’s lives & requirements changed during this time which makes it very difficult from them to now to return pre COVID times.
Dave Matthews Said,
October 24, 2025 @ 11:49 am
Intriguingly us folks in IT have recently been commanded to watch a series of training videos, put together by AXA, related to “Digital Sustainability” and how AXA will achieve “IT net zero”. One of the edicts is that we must *reduce* employee commuting. There is clearly a conflict of ideals here.
We have seen before that AXA doesn’t always practise what it preaches – and here it’s a case of acting in manner diametrically opposed to its apparent social and environmental goals.
So how do we increase office attendance but reduce commuting? I guess what AXA wants is for us to start *living* in the office…? 😉