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- 😈 The new worst take on WFH: Elon Musk says it's a moral issue
😈 The new worst take on WFH: Elon Musk says it's a moral issue
Inside: a Xebec giveaway, highlighting a West Coast nomadic organization, and Kevin O'Leary's response to Elon.
Remote Source
May 22, 2023 • Estimated Reading Time: 5 minutes
Good Morning,
Today we launch the final giveaway of Monitor May: The Xebec Tri-Screen 2! It’s portable, works with any laptop, and can be set up in 15 seconds. I can vouch they’re great because I bought the original myself years ago 😊
Sign up here if you haven’t entered yet, and then check out the ways to earn more entries.
Travel
If the images in the Xebec picture are calling to you, Kift might satisfy your nomadic itch.
It’s described as a “community of caring people who share resources and experiences” - a co-working and co-living organization consisting of multiple locations and membership tiers, with a heightened focus on overall well-being.
Today, they have locations in Sandy, OR; Loveland, CO; and Ukiah, CA, just north of San Francisco and pictured below:
Need to know
I keep thinking I’ve heard the worst takes on remote work, but I continue to be unpleasantly surprised.
This week, CNN interviewed Kevin O’Leary (aka Shark Tank’s “Mr. Wonderful”) and discussed Elon Musk’s CNBC interview where the topic of remote work was mentioned.
Elon’s take is that if people who provide you with various goods or services cannot work from home (think food delivery, home contractors, etc.), then it is morally wrong for you to work from home yourself.
“The people who fix your house, they can’t work from home, but you can? Does that seem morally right? That’s messed up.“
This is a clear example of someone grasping at straws - he’s desperate for reasons to bring workers back into the office so he can feel like his employees are working more.
Kevin O’Leary’s comments are much more logical. After disclosing that his companies’ collective free cash flow is up 20% since many of his employees have shifted to WFH, he stated confidently that it’s here to stay.
Primarily in accounting, logistics, and compliance departments in various businesses, where they used to work in cubicles and they had to drive an hour to the office, they found a different lifestyle and they still get their work done.
Now, I can make them work in the office - and they’ll simply say ‘thank you, but I’m going to work for somebody else: your competitor.’
So we choose not to do that.
In this matchup of emotional vs. logical reasoning, Elon is undoubtedly going to end up on the wrong side of history.
Finally, Twitter user @jaxjm responded to the story with a great alternative headline:
“Car company CEO wants people to drive more.”
…bringing to mind real estate moguls’ obviously biased views on remote work, which we wrote about a few weeks ago.
Elsewhere
Employees say return to office is breaking the bank (Insider)
How to collaborate effectively if your team is remote (Harvard Business Review)
The 10 best cities for remote work (Rent.com)
Remote workers of the world, unite! (Wired)
As companies reduce remote work, tension with employees persists (Forbes)
Still annoyed at the fact that Elon likened the WFH capability of home contractors and factory workers to that of employees who only need a laptop and an internet connection.
There are obviously always going to be jobs that need to be done in person. Remote work simply applies to the ones that don’t. And he knows that.
Here’s hoping nobody in the future has a worse take than complaining that WFH is “morally wrong.”
But if he’s right… guess I’ll see y’all in hell 😎
Cheers,
Grant
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