That puts the Tesla-Twitter-SpaceX boss in line with investment banks on the issue. Finance execs have generally made clear their expectation that office-based working is the norm and hybrid arrangements the exception.
In industries that rely on intellectual capital, that stance does make sense. Nearly three years since the emergence of COVID-19, the reasoning should be well understood. In the know-how profession, being in the same space gets the job done better: Casual enquiries are easier, information flows faster, serendipitous encounters spark opportunities.
Co-location retains institutional knowledge. Cultural cohesion just happens, whereas remote-only firms must resort to off-sites to replicate the effect.
THE MARKET FOR TALENT IS ALWAYS RIGHT
Is brute force the best way to get people back? As the pandemic abated in the US and Europe, the banking industry went from using workplace perks as carrots to a more coercive read-between-the-lines approach based on bosses’ pro-office messaging.
A weaker labour market will embolden leaders to be more explicit about their preferred solution to the equation. The last few weeks have seen thousands of job losses announced in tech; the omens for finance are bad too. But in any industry that relies on talent, employers should not overestimate their bargaining power.
Some workers, most obviously those with family care responsibilities, need flexibility of either location or hours, or both. You can’t negotiate with need: They will take their skills elsewhere. Bosses risk narrowing candidate pools.
