Why Remote Work Shouldn’t Be Up for Debate
Organizations face roadblocks of all kinds. Demonizing remote work or putting in-office work on a pedestal is not the answer, and recent data supports this
By | Joshua H. Davidson | www.entrepreneur.com
Elon Musk‘s recent announcement that Tesla employees can no longer work from home sparked a lot of discussions. In leaked emails, Musk told staff who want to continue working remotely that they can “pretend to work somewhere else.”
While no stranger to making what some consider divisive statements, Elon Musk is not the only founder who feels that people who work from home “aren’t actually doing anything.”
Related: How Leaders Can Make the Best of Remote Working
The remote work debate rages on
Some company leaders believe long-term remote work is a financial liability. Employees working from home lack productivity, they say. Ex-Google CEO Eric Schmidt told CNBC, “I don’t know how you build great management virtually.” Goldman Sachs CEO David Solomon said remote-work culture is an “aberration” that needs to be corrected “as quickly as possible.”
Still, others question if this is simply a smoke screen; speculating Musk making a decision that will undoubtedly cause a sizable portion of the staff to spontaneously quit creates an opportunity to get around conducting any necessary wide-scale layoffs. Major brands are already waiting in the wings to poach members of Tesla’s expected exodus, Amazon being among them.