WeWork CEO Says Only Less Engaged Employees Prefer Work From Home
People weren¡¯t happy with what Mathrani stated, while many called it a desperate attempt at making people get back to work and help his rather dying business stay afloat.
After Covid-19 hit last year, most of us who can are working from home -- and while some do miss going to work and enjoying with their colleagues, many have fallen in love with the work-from-home routine. There are proven benefits for companies too, because of the forced work from home trend.
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Amidst this, companies that offer co-working spaces are definitely at loss, seeing that in a post-COVID future, most people are making home offices and continuing to be productive, destroying their entire business model.
Also Read: 73% Employees Want Flexible Remote Work To Continue, Says Microsoft
And the current CEO of WeWork, Sandeep Mathrani tried to do some damage control, however, the way he did it, definitely disappointed many along the way.
Mathrani was in a conversation with Wall Street Journal¡¯s Kate Linebaugh at the Future of Everything Festival, where she asked his views on how office work would change in the future.
To this he replied how he¡¯s been seeing a trend where many CEOs and employees are looking for flexibility and that no one is really saying that they don¡¯t want to get back to work, maybe a few days a week or maybe a few days in two weeks.
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However, what he would say next would shock and even make many furious. Mathrani said, ¡°Those who are uberly engaged with the company want to go to the office two-thirds of the time, at least. Those who are least engaged are very comfortable working from home.¡±
Mathrani continued, ¡°People are happier when they come to work. The bigger issue is do you come to work five days a week or do you come to work three days a week? That¡¯s the bigger issue. There¡¯s no issue of not coming to a commonplace.¡±
Also Read: Work From Home: 93% Workers Have Taken More Responsibilities, But What About Salary?
People weren¡¯t happy with what Mathrani stated, while many called it a desperate attempt at making people get back to work and help his rather dying business stay afloat.
Alternative headline idea: WeWork CEO hasn¡¯t worked nights and weekends over the last five years. https://t.co/teH7VSh62J
¡ª Phil Corso (@philcorso) May 12, 2021
embarrassing, outdated and ableist take from WeWork whose business model is dependent on people needing office space. https://t.co/DI77xD6PZE
¡ª leanne griffin (@leannemgriff) May 12, 2021
Some people shared what problems people truly experienced while coming to work every day and how working from home has helped them be more productive and mentally at peace.
Complete nonsense. Some people don¡¯t want to come back to work because they were not provided with disability accommodations.
¡ª Tinu aka Empress Thee Twerker, Thirst of my Line (@Tinu) May 12, 2021
Some people got more work done. Others might be introverts. Ugh @WeWork but I¡¯m sadly not surprised. https://t.co/oQwkYW8ezS
These commutes are eating up time, setting off depth charges in family schedules, costing companies money in unnecessary rent and utilities, and polluting the planet. If we can work from home, we should work from home. If we can't, we should have office "hubs."
¡ª Cheryl Lynn Eaton (@cheryllynneaton) May 12, 2021
Working from home has been positive for many companies
The whole work from home regime has been an eye-opening experience for many and has shown positives and negatives not just for the health, productivity and well-being of the employee but also for the companies.
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Many have reported being more stressed and overworked when working from home, but they¡¯ve also been glad that they didn¡¯t have to commute four hours during rush hour and that they are now able to spend more time with their family.
Also Read: Google Saved Over $1 Billion In 2020, Thanks To Employees Working From Home
But several companies have seen a positive impact with work from home. Google, for instance, saved over $1 billion dollars with most of its employees working from home thus reducing operating costs.
A Harvard Business Review article has highlighted how working from home not just makes workers happier but also more productive. This also highlighted fewer in-office employees means smaller space requirements and reduced real estate costs.
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Citing an example of USPTO (the United States Patent and Trademark Office) it stated how the organization estimated that increases in remote work in 2015 saved it $38.2 million.
Do you think work from home should be there forever? Tell us in the comments below.
