Starbucks CEO pleads workers to return to the office: " I'll get on my knees, do whatever you want".

Daniel Engels
9 replies
At the same time he admits there was no productivity loss due to remote work. So why does he want the employees to return to the office? (Here's a link to the original article in Business Insider: https://www.businessinsider.com/starbucks-ceo-howard-schultz-begs-workers-return-office-2022-6?r=US&IR=T )

Replies

Jas BG
He's probably sitting on a ton of empty real estate...
Daniel Engels
@jasbanwait well,why won't he sublet it in this case!
Ankur Mehrotra
He hasnt really stated why he wants them to return.
Daniel Engels
@ankur_mehrotra1 this is so true. I fail to understand it.
Charles
I appreciate the CEO's candour, in all honesty. He admits he's old-school and goes on to say he's not wanted to mandate an office return as other company leads have. The performance pressure at the level he's at is immense so good on him, really. I suspect the best way forward is a mix of yesterday and tomorrow because despite hyperbole to the contrary, old-school isn't synonymous with 'bad' and neither is new-school. This is the tightrope he's trying to walk, it sounds like.
Daniel Engels
@charlie_buch This quote gor my attention for its sincerity, too. However, I guess there is a structural change. You won't be able to attract the best talent at a market salary for to work in the office full time. (There'll always be exceptions, though).
Rumi Uttam
I personally prefer working from office so I would go back :)
Pawel
Hi! I work in one of the biggest consulting companies in real estate sector. 95% of Tenants I spoke with have the same problem: how to bring employees to the office again. I don't want to get in detail, however this is real thing and I heard (in EU) some legislation works are in process to be implemented, which will make people come to office more often. In my opinion there is no CEO that came up strict from remote work, and interacting face to face is just in human nature. Offices will be transformed into collaborative and meeting spaces, and will be flexible and tailored to the needs of employees (e.g., it will be possible to come with a child). Anyway, I personally see a lot of value from being in the office, even though I am present for a maximum of 2 days / week.
Daniel Engels
@pawelszafa Such a working environment is hard for me to imagine.