Chicago Tech Startup Joins RTO Bandwagon With A Twist: $10K Raises

Cameo once proclaimed itself surprised and delighted by the success of remote work.

Now, it is offering its employees $10K raises and other perks to work in its Chicago office four days a week.

The tech startup, which allows users to buy personalized video messages from a roster of celebrities, is also paying for workers' lunches, parking and gym memberships, Crain's Chicago Business reports. Twenty-six of the company's 50 employees are located in the city, according to the outlet.

“I believe people are more valuable in person, and I wanted to put our money where our mouth is and pay people more who work out of the office,” Cameo CEO Steven Galanis told Crain's.

Before the new incentive, most workers were coming in two to three days a week, Galanis told Crain's.

The company isn't firing employees who live outside the city or requiring them to move to Chicago, Galanis said. But Cameo is offering workers outside Chicago up to $5K to offset moving costs in addition to the $10K raise.

“We want the office to be a perk, not a penalty,” Galanis told the outlet.

Cameo is a rare example of a company using a carrot instead of a stick to get workers back to the office. Amazon, JPMorgan Chase and AT&T are some of the largest employers to mandate full-time RTO without any perks.

Last week, JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon sounded off on remote work in leaked audio from an internal town hall. In the audio, Dimon claimed remote employees were reading emails, sending personal texts to one another and otherwise not paying attention during Zoom calls.

“And if you don’t think that slows down efficiency, creativity, creates rudeness — it does,” Dimon said.

“You have a choice,” he added. “You don’t have to work at JPMorgan.”

The Trump administration has also imposed a strict, five-day-a-week RTO policy for government employees. President Donald Trump made the mandate one of his first executive orders upon assuming office.

Continue reading this story with a free account

Log in or register
Sign up for more articles like this
Subscribe to Bisnow's Chicago Newsletters
Related Stories

JVP Development Is Betting $37M Of Its Own Money That Frisco Is Ready For Spec Office

Hedge Fund Bids $88M For Spirit Airlines' Former HQ

Mars Factory Overhaul Stalls As Candymaker's Chicago Expansion Accelerates

Oyster Point's Second Phase Half-Leased As Kilroy Navigates Soft Lab Demand

BXP Closes In On Next D.C. Office Development As It Shrinks Assets

Clarion Under Contract To Sell 18-Story Seaport Office Tower

Oil Company Expands Again At Cash Register Building

BXP's 343 Madison Lands $1.2B Loan, Nears Deal With Equity Partner

D.C. Sues To Block HUD Headquarters Move To Virginia

Ken Griffin Completes Takeover Of Brickell Block, Setting Stage For $2.5B Megaproject

Private Equity Firm Buys Former Texas Instruments Campus For New Headquarters

DFW Office Footprints Likely To Shrink As AI Use Increases And Companies Battle For Talent