Here’s why Elon Musk (and other bosses) are wrong about remote work

Was Elon Musk wrong for insisting that all his staff return to the office, and banning remote work at Tesla?

The answer, according to experts and research, is a resounding yes, and that his antiquated view of remote work making people unproductive is simply wrong.

“Everyone at Tesla is required to spend a minimum of 40 hours in the office per week,” Musk recently wrote in an email to staff titled “To be super clear.”

“Moreover, the office must be where your actual colleagues are located, not some remote pseudo-office. If you do not show up, we will assume you have resigned.”

Musk has also been quoted saying Americans are “trying to avoid going to work at all.”

This begs the question where Musk has been over the past two years making a statement like this, and whether he has even heard of the Big Resignation, which has seen people are leaving their jobs for remote work to spend more time actually living.

One expert who thinks Musk, and other employers like him, have got it wrong.

“Companies across South Africa are rapidly demanding a return to work of all employees, often with very little time provided for the transition. While there is a case to be made from the company’s point of view of getting all hands physically on deck again after the great office exodus of 2020, leaders should be aware of the consequences of a top-down approach,” Advaita Naidoo, MD: Africa at Jack Hammer Global, an executive search firm, says.

ALSO READ: Companies battle to retain talent, as workers demand better salaries, conditions

The great resignation and work in the office

“The USA and a number of other countries around the world are feeling the effects of the so-called great resignation, the phenomenon whereby vast swathes of employees simply quit their jobs instead of returning to the office. However, the socio-economic environment in South Africa means that while some people are indeed quitting, most do not have the luxury to do so.”

Although this does not mean that return to work mandates at short notice will not negatively impact workplaces here, it will affect companies in different ways, she says.

“In South Africa, companies face a real risk of the rapid call-back impacting on their bottom line. We are already fielding calls daily from highly sought-after professionals who are not prepared – through choice, changed circumstance or both – to return to the way things were before Covid.”

Naidoo says although companies might consider it their prerogative to mandate employees to return to work without delay, they will be doing themselves a disservice if they do not pause, reflect and strategise the way forward before doing so.

“The reality is that after two years of pandemic fight-or-flight survival, employees are tired, demotivated, stressed, worn out, fearful of the future, straining because of the rising cost of living, and still dealing with the fallout from Covid’s impact on their lives and families.”

ALSO READ: The sky-high cost of living: SA’ns may be returning to office at the worst time

Real-life impact of returning to the office

She says you just have to look at the real-life impact of the return-to-work ultimatums on social media forums on the part of desperate employees, who simply cannot adapt and change their lives with short notice, to understand that just because companies can make this demand, it does not mean they should.

If they do, it could result in losing people, developing a toxic workplace and failing to attract good people down the line, Naidoo says.

“For more than two years, companies were able to get the job done while employees continued to pull their weight and more from home. Therefore, it is reasonable for them to question why it is suddenly again necessary for everyone to be physically at their desks from sunrise until sunset.”

Naidoo warns that adding resentment on top of existing stressors is a sure-fire way to turn the workplace toxic, leading to reduced productivity, absenteeism, loss of motivation, and a negative work environment.

Linda Trim, director of Giant Leap, a local workplace design consultancy, says the challenges of remote work is getting harder to ignore. 

Also Read: Survey predicts mass resignations as workers demand more money from employers

“A growing number of execs want to put an end to the work from home revolution but fear the backlash from employees. They also want to be politically correct at the expense of the business.” 

She says you have to respect Musk for speaking out and admitting to the challenges companies are facing by trying to keep employees happy. 

ALSO READ: Working from home: I miss those lazy office days

Not a way to instil confidence

Musk’s anti-future of work attitude has been criticised by experts such as Christopher J. Dwyer, who wrote for The Future of Work Exchange:

“What a way to instil confidence in your staff, Elon. Musk is actively shaking up the Future of Work movement in a very negative manner for the sake of valorisation of burnout and rigidity.”

Dwyer says Musk is taking a calculated risk to claim that remote work is not viable.

“Tesla is sure to lose staff in the wake of his new mandate and more critically will lose its status as a hotbed of talent in the eyes of candidates now and in the future.”

Working at Tesla surely has some panache, but if the environment and culture reflect Musk’s ignorant vision, workers are risking burnout and an extreme lack of flexibility.

Steve Black, chief strategy officer of Topia, an HR tech company specialising in global talent mobility, emphasised that Musk’s move is a dangerous talent strategy when he spoke to Forbes.

“In our recent Adapt survey, we found that 65% of employees who are forced back into the office full-time say they are more likely to look for a new job, while 46% are attracted to jobs that focus on employee well-being and 42% want the ability to work from home when they want.”

ALSO READ: Survey predicts mass resignations as workers demand more money from employers

Productive in office will be productive from home

David Powell, president of Prodoscore, told Forbes their data shows that employees who were highly productive in-office, will be productive at home, while employees who slacked off at the office, will do the same a home.

“After evaluating over 105 million data points from 30,000 U.S.-based Prodoscore users, we discovered a 5% increase in productivity during the pandemic work from home period. Although, as we know, any variant of the Covid-19 virus is unpredictable, employee productivity is not.”

Two studies conducted early in 2022 showed that remote and hybrid employees were happier, more productive, and stayed in their jobs longer, while also indicating that working from home led to better work-life balance and more beneficial physical and mental well-being for employees.

“The Great Resignation” saw employees refusing to let companies pigeonhole them into narrow, tight roles, with some starting their own businesses, some retiring earlier than they had planned, and some seeking out organisations with more work options or employers who made them feel more appreciated and valued.

Ragu Bhargava, CEO at Global Upside, told Forbes “The new normal” is a complete transformation in how we work, emphasising the importance of evolving with the needs of employees. He warns that businesses that view remote work as temporary or unorthodox risked losing staff and no longer being competitive as the workplace evolved around them.

“There is this clinging narrative of a ‘return to normalcy’ that many employers hold on to, while the world of work will never truly return to the way it was before. The pandemic revolutionised the workplace and expedited an already growing need for remote workers.”