Musk’s Office Mandate
A forward-thinking leader holds surprisingly antiquated views
Elon Musk is a visionary. The companies he leads are on the cutting edge of technologies that can transform transportation, space travel, and health and longevity. But even the most future-minded people can hold view attached to old ways of doing things. Last week, Musk revealed one of his.
As reported in media and then confirmed by his tweets, Musk is demanding all Tesla staff return to the office and be required to “spend a minimum of 40 hours in the office per week.” When he was challenged with the assertion that this is an antiquated view since the way we work is evolving, Musk retorted that any Tesla employees who didn’t agree with him “should pretend to work somewhere else.”
As the leader of his company, Musk makes the ultimate decision about how and where his employees will work. However, it is a strangely authoritarian, inflexible edict considering how forward-thinking he typically is.
While it’s true that remote, hybrid and flexible work won’t serve every company, the beauty of technology is that it does provide us the opportunity to do much of the knowledge-worker’s job from anywhere as long as they have a laptop and internet.
For Tesla, which manufactures cars, perhaps it does make more sense for employees to be in one place, working on the vehicles they produce. The troubling part of Musk’s policy is his attitude about remote workers. It appears that he believes 1) remote workers are “pretending” to work and 2) everyone should work crazy hours like he does or they aren’t a committed employee.
First, there is ample evidence that remote workers are actually more productive. They aren’t distracted by office chit-chat, they save time by not commuting, and they are generally more focused. Office presence does not equate true productivity. If an employer is concerned about productivity, perhaps they didn’t set clear goals for their employees. Once a clear, measurable goal is set, it’s much easier for remote workers to be successful. No need to micromanage or assume staff are slacking off.
Second, Musk is renowned for working nonstop; he could be described as a workaholic. His companies and their missions are his life. He’s been rewarded handsomely for this dedication to work. But not everyone is going to be a billionaire, nor do they necessarily want to be. For many people, work is a means to earn a living so they can focus on family or personal interests.
Demanding that staff work 40+ hours per week evidences the culture Musk has built. Some people will choose that work/lifestyle. But many do not want to work for a company that basically requires them to commit 24/7. It’s clear that anyone who chooses to work for one of Musk’s companies must emulate their leader’s behavior.
The last two years ushered in a new era of how and where we work. It’s not been a perfect process, and we still have much to learn before remote work is viewed as just as efficient as office work. But many companies have learned that workers expect greater flexibility now. One leader interviewed by GeekWire observed, “Remote work will have to be a part of every tech company’s culture otherwise they will lose talent to other companies that offer such advantages.”
We shall see whether Musk’s remote work policy will keep Tesla competitive with other employers. He apparently hasn’t embraced the forward-thinking perspective of others such as Dan Spaulding, the CEO of Zillow, who noted:
“[The pandemic] shined a bright spotlight on a truth that was already there: the traditional 9-to-5 office construct didn’t work well for everyone. Now, former office workers have adjusted to a different model and have largely proven to be just as productive, if not more. A better way is possible.”
A better way is possible. Let’s hope leaders such as Elon Musk will continue to evolve their perspective on the what’s possible for the future of work.
Work happy. Live happy. BE happy.
Meredith
The way we work and build teams is rapidly changing. Leaders often feel unprepared to navigate the transition. As a conscious leadership coach, consultant and communicator, Meredith helps leaders and their teams create new ways of working and relating so they can prepare for the future by consciously co-creating it.
Contact her to develop your conscious leadership and transform your organization into the workplace of the future.
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