NEW DELHI: A hybrid work culture that was adopted by the corporate environment following the onset of Covid has failed to win the approval of the world’s richest man Elon Musk, who said “Those working from home are detached from reality,” reported news agency IANS.
During a meeting on Wednesday, the Tesla chief said: “Why did I sleep in the factory so many times? Because it mattered. What about all the people that have to come to the factory and build the cars? What about all of the people that have to go to the restaurant and make your food, and deliver your food?”
“Really, you’re gonna work from home? And you’re gonna make everyone else who made your car come work at the factory? The people who make your food that gets delivered, can’t work from home? The people who fix your house, can’t work from home but you can? Does that seem morally right? It’s messed up,” Musk added.
Last year, Elon Musk emailed his workers, informing them that the company would ban remote work unless he personally approved it.
Prior to Musk’s arrival, Twitter had established a permanent work-from-anywhere arrangement for its workers, many of whom had initially been pushed into remote work by the pandemic.
It was one of the first topics in an all-hands call Musk held with Twitter staff after announcing the deal to buy the company earlier in 2022. He had said then that he was against remote work and would only grant exceptions on a case-by-case basis.