IBM CEO Arvind Krishna has told the company’s employees that failure to return to the office may result in poor (or no) career progression.
Speaking to Bloomberg (opens in new tab), Krishna declared that, “Remote work can be hazardous to your career.”
Krishna explains that for some roles, remote working continues to be an okay way of doing things, but those who want to progress in their career should seriously consider working the majority of their time from their official office space.
IBM remote working
Even so, IBM is one of a shrinking number that has not forced all workers to return to the office.
Krishna explained the company “encourage[s],” “expect[s],” and “want[s]” workers to visit the office three days a week, stating that “it doesn’t need to be every minute.”
IBM’s regular workers, who scarcely find themselves looking to branch out to other career types but instead find themselves switching between the same role in different companies, are least likely to be affected by Krishna’s statement. However, managers looking to expand are expected to show initiative and collaboration skills that cannot be demonstrated online, thus an office-based routine is favorable.
Amazon CEO Andy Jassy reported similar feelings in his recent return-to-office announcement, but other companies have displayed mixed signals. Google Cloud workers were told to return to office three days per week, only to be turned away for one of those three days in order to desk share with a colleague.
Speculation is beginning to ramp up as to why IBM has decided to bring up worker-related policies and expectations just days after it was reported to be considering pausing 7,800 recruitment places in favor of using AI in laborious, back-office jobs.
