Tech
Remote Work and Companies’ New Approaches
Remote work is revolutionizing the modern business world. Discover companies’ new approaches, learn strategies that increase employee satisfaction, and find out how you can enhance productivity with effective remote management techniques.
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, many companies transitioned to remote work models, providing their employees with the opportunity to work from home. However, with the end of the lockdowns, many companies started calling their employees back to the office. Some companies, however, continued to allow employees to work from home or choose a hybrid working model.
When we examine the example of Google, the company’s former CEO Eric Schmidt believes that the flexible working options are behind the tech giant’s loss in competition in the field of artificial intelligence against rivals like OpenAI and Anthropic. In a talk with students at Stanford University, he explained why Google has fallen behind in AI competition with the following statements:
- “Google decided that work-life balance, going home early, and working from home are more important than winning.”
- “The reason new ventures succeed is that people work very hard.”
Google’s 2022 Annual Diversity Report showed that the company introduced a new hybrid work model that allows employees to spend three days in the office and two days wherever they choose. However, last year, Google began monitoring employee attendance in the office and stated that it considered this a criterion in performance evaluations.
During his talk with students, Eric Schmidt summarized this situation as follows:
- “I’m sorry to be so blunt, but the truth is, if you all graduate from university and start a company, you cannot allow people to work from home and come to the office only one day a week if you want to compete with other ventures.”
Apology Process
These remarks caused a significant reaction, especially among Google employees and many remote workers. Following the criticisms, Schmidt made a sharp change in his views and issued a new statement apologizing for his words. In an email sent to the Wall Street Journal, Schmidt stated:
- “I spoke incorrectly about Google and work hours.”
- “I regret my mistake.”
Of course, Eric Schmidt is not the only prominent executive to criticize remote work. JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon also expressed in an interview conducted in 2023 that this work model is not suitable for young apprentices or management teams. Similarly, Elon Musk described remote work as “morally wrong” in an interview last year, stating that some employees have to physically go to work.