Australian billionaire mining boss opposes staff leaving the office to get coffee

Chris Ellison has enforced a strict no work from home policy at his company Mineral Resources

Chris Ellison says he wants to ‘hold staff captive all day long’ (Fairfax Media)

An Australian mining boss has said that workers who leave the head office to buy a cup of coffee are costing the firm too much money.

Chris Ellison, managing director of Mineral Resources, said that he wants to hold “staff captive all day long” and that he doesn’t want them to leave the building.

“We have a lot of different benefits that we have brought on,” said Mr Ellison during a company presentation, whose company has a strict “no work from home policy”.

“Why have I done that? Because when I get them first thing in the morning, I want to hold them captive all day long. I don’t want them leaving the building.

“I don’t want them walking down the road for a cup of coffee. We kind of figured out a few years ago how much that costs.”

The company’s head office in Perth has a number of amenities available for staff, which include a restaurant, a gym, psychologists and a day-care centre large enough for 105 children.

“Drop their little tykes off next door. We have doctors on board and nurses who are going to feed them, but mum and dad will be working in our office,” he said.

He added that the rest of the mining industry should follow suit, adding: “The industry cannot afford it. We can’t have people working three days a week and picking up five days a week pay - or four days.”

His AXS company, which is worth A$8bn and employs about 5,600 people, has made him one of Australia’s richest men.

During the Covid-19 pandemic, companies across the globe allowed employees to work remotely in order to reduce the risk of transmitting the virus.

Since then, a number of firms have changed their stance and have ordered staff back into the office, including Elon Musk’s Tesla, Deutsche Bank and Manchester United.