Elon Musk wants to ban WFH for millions in the US government
Elon Musk may terminate remote work for millions of federal employees, as he steps into his new role as head of the Department of Government Efficiency (D.O.G.E).
The tech titan and outspoken Trump supporter outlined plans to announce a mandatory return to office policy to reduce the size of the US government workforce and cut costs, according to an op-ed published by the Wall Street Journal, at the end of last year.
“Requiring federal employees to come to the office five days a week would result in a wave of voluntary terminations that we welcome”, Musk said in the piece, co-written with conservative political leader Vivek Ramaswamy.
He argued that taxpayers should no longer foot the bill for what he deemed “the COVID-era privilege of staying at home”.
“If federal employees don’t want to show up, American taxpayers shouldn’t pay them”, he said.
Companies like Amazon and Walmart have already announced full 5-day week return to office mandates, leading in an exodus of high performing employees.
Amazon said it planned to return to an “office-centric culture as our baseline”. It added, “we believe it enables us to invent, collaborate, and learn together most effectively”.
Fortune Magazine reported that Amazon experienced a mass departure of employees after implementing its return to the office policy.
It’s recent survey found that 73 per cent of workers in similar situations considered quitting when faced with such requirements.
In the UK, over half of workers (51 per cent) would forgo a pay rise in order to not work from the office full time, according to figures by Morgan McKinley.
On Monday, a petition for ad giant WPP to revoke its new office policy attracted over 10,000 signatures in only four days, four days after CityAM revealed it would be forcing staff to come in four days a week.
Musk’s approach was therefore seen as less about fostering collaboration, and more about encouraging resignations.
His stance, which mirrors his policies at both Tesla and SpaceX, has drawn parallels with recent corporate behaviours around return to office policies.
When he bought X, formerly known as Twitter, Musk cancelled remote work and instituted sweeping layoffs.
He told his employees in both companies that they needed to spend a minimum of 40 hours in the office per week.
Yet, not all leaders agree.
Many chief executives interviewed by Fortune advocate for hybrid models – a blend of in office and work from home – as the sweet spot.
They claimed that having the collaboration and creativity from seeing workers in the office, combined with the flexibility of remote work was key for their employees.
Kate Johnson, chief executive of Lumen, said that the “all in, all out” approach “doesn’t work”.
She cited that her employees were much happier, and therefore much more productive, by being able to balance their work and personal lives.
Pat Geraghty, chief executive of GuideWell, has taken a more flexible approach by allowing his workers to decide for themselves.
“They don’t have to commute, buy work clothes, or lose that chunk of their day”, he told Fortune.
Other leaders, like Paypal’s Alex Chriss, acknowledged the benefits of in person creativity and collaboration, but stressed the balance needed with modern realities.
While many see return to the office mandates as necessary for productivity, others see it as a cost cutting measure.