The party has gone on long enough. This is essentially the point of view of some bosses of large companies who abhor teleworking and require their employees to return, at least in part, to the office. In this article, we’ve selected three leaders who use fairly strong arguments to make their case.
Sam Zell (Equity Group Investments)
A “bag of bullshit”, is how Sam Zell, a businessman who made his fortune in real estate, describes telecommuting. The president of Equity Group Investments took advantage of a lunch recently organized by New York University to develop his point of view.
According to him, “one of the biggest lies in the world is that people who work from home are more productive than those who work in the office”. He adds : “You’re much less productive working from home in your pajamas with three kids running around than if you’re working in an office”.
He also points out that working from home is a problem for young people who cannot develop skills, because it is only possible in the office: “I don’t know how a young person who wants to be recognized – who wants to be rewarded for a superior effort – can do it if the person who makes the decisions about it does not see it at work, ”argues the billionaire.
Finally Sam Zell attacked board meetings conducted by videoconference. He judges that the latter will never make it possible to achieve the “real conversations” that take place on site.
As our colleagues from Fortunethe entrepreneur’s words may not be entirely disinterested as remote working has been a blow to commercial real estate, a sector that has secured his fortunes.
Jamie Dimon (JPMorgan Chase)
JPMorgan Chase now requires its chief executives to return to work in the office 5 days a week, a reversal from the habits that have been formed during the pandemic. It must be said that the CEO of the company Jamie Dimon never really hid his skepticism about remote work.
In an annual letter to shareholders published in 2021, the manager explained that teleworking to many “serious weaknesses. »
“Over time, this downside could significantly damage the character and culture you want to promote in your business”he warned As for Zoom meetings, he pointed out the risks of a slowdown in decision-making because they have “few immediate effects”.
Finally, Jamie Dimon said he preferred working in the office and especially for the spontaneity and the social bond when meeting people in the hallway or at the coffee machine.
Bob Iger (Disney)
Since his return to Disney at the end of last year, Bob Iger has given very firm instructions to his collaborators to that they return to work on site. They are therefore required to spend at least 4 days in the office each week since March 1.
The CEO explains in an internal memo as follows: “Over the past few months, I’ve met with teams across the company and realized that it’s incredibly important to be together with the people you work with. »
He then developed his point of view: “In a creative enterprise like ours, nothing can replace the ability to connect, observe and create with peers that comes from being physically together, or the opportunity to grow professionally by learning from of leaders and mentors ».
