Billionaire Chris Ellison - I keep my Mineral Resources mining staff captive in the office with no breaks

• A billionaire mining executive is insisting employees stay in the office all day, even forgoing coffee breaks
• Chris Ellison's has openly admitted he wants to keep employees "captive" in the office
• The company, valued at A$8 billion, officially banned remote work last year
• Ellison, who earned A$6 million last year, believes other businesses should follow his example

A billionaire mining executive who has already banned working from home has now said he wants to hold his employees “captive” at the office - without them even leaving for a coffee break.

Chris Ellison, the managing director of Mineral Resources, said that his company was investing in amenities at the firm’s head office in Perth, Western Australia, to “hold them captive.”

“I want to hold them captive all day long,” Ellison said during a financial presentation on Thursday 29 August.

“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 cost.” Ellison, 67, earned A$6 million (£3.1 million) last year, and is reportedly worth around A$1.2 billion (£600 million).

He said the industry could not afford to continue down the path of flexible working, and has criticised other companies that allow remote work.

(Photos: Pexels/PR Image) | Pexels/PR Image

His ASX-listed company, valued at around A$8 billion (£4.1 billion) and employing about 5,600 people, officially banned the practice last year, despite the growing trend of working from home since the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic.

While many companies offer hybrid work-from-home options, Ellison believes more businesses should follow his lead and bring employees back to the office full-time.

“I have a no-work-from-home policy,” Ellison said. “I wish everyone else would get on board with that – the sooner the better. The industry can’t afford it.”

“We’ve now got the industry all heading out there going ‘why don’t we do a four-day week, we got used to it over Covid. We can’t have people working three days, and picking up five days a week pay, or [even] four days.”

To keep employees on-site, Mineral Resources has added various facilities at its headquarters, including a restaurant and a gym.

It has even opened an on-site creche that can accommodate 105 children, charging around A$20 (£10.25) a day, significantly less than the typical A$180 (£92.22) fee from external providers.

“Head office is a place that a lot of our people want to be, and they love working in there,” Ellison said. “We’ve got a restaurant in there, we’ve also got a gym, and we’ve got other facilities that keep them glued in there.”

There is also a team of in-house psychologists on hand...

Originally from a lower-class family in New Zealand, Ellison - a father of six was - ranked at number 49 on Forbes' list of Australia's 50 Richest in 2024.

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