Work from home

Billionaire James Dyson says letting people work from home is ‘staggeringly self-defeating’ and will cause friction between employers and employees

Donovan Larsen Donovan LarsenDecember 13, 2022
0 179 8 minutes read
Sir James Dyson presents the Special Recognition award for Innovation on stage during The Fashion Awards 2017 in partnership with Swarovski at Royal Albert Hall on December 4, 2017 in London, England. Stuart Wilson/BFC/Getty Images © Provided by Business Insider Sir James Dyson presents the Special Recognition award for Innovation on stage during The Fashion Awards 2017 in partnership with Swarovski at Royal Albert Hall on December 4, 2017 in London, England. Stuart Wilson/BFC/Getty Images

  • Sir James Dyson has slammed the UK’s plans to extend employees’ rights to work from home.
  • Writing in The Times, the billionaire said the policy shift is “economically illiterate and staggeringly self-defeating.”
  • Without control over where employees work, companies like Dyson will hesitate to invest in the UK, he said.

  • Slide 1 of 16: Flexibility, such as remote work or flexible hours, can be a key benefit workers want in their job. Indeed looked at what companies stand out for their flexibility. Looking at some 2021 Fortune 500 Index companies, Indeed found Intuit as the most flexible. Given the ongoing popularity of flexibility at work, companies looking to make more hires during the tight labor market may want to see how their work-life balance offerings compare to their peers.Intuit, Google, and Apple led the way in one ranking from career site Indeed of the "most flexible companies.""Indeed compiled this list by including companies that are members of the 2021 Fortune 500 Index with 1,500+ data points," a post with the ranking stated. "These companies are the most highly rated on 'flexibility' between September 2021 - September 2022."Flexibility for this ranking means in terms of where and when employees are expected to work. Based on Indeed's analysis, Intuit ranked number one."To be a flexible employer, we must ensure employees and teams have the autonomy to work how and when needed," Jim Curcio, director of global benefits at Intuit, said in a statement to Insider."For our tech teams that are co-creating products and need synchronous communication, we've made updates to many of our physical office locations to enable teams to work in person for longer periods of time," Curcio added. "Similarly, we've made technological updates to ensure that employees working remotely feel they're part of the conversation even when folks are in person in a meeting room."According to a post from FlexJobs, a remote work job site, flexibility has different benefits. This includes helping recruit and retain workers as well as can help with employee engagement."When you let people work flexibly, you say that you trust them to get their work done no matter how, when, or where that happens," Jessica Howington of FlexJobs wrote in the post.It seems remote work will continue to be a popular flexible benefit that recruiters can offer to help attract and retain workers."I definitely think remote work will continue to thrive," Svenja Gudell, chief economist of Indeed, previously told Insider. Gudell added that searches for remote positions on the career site Indeed "hasn't really come down."A recent report from Glassdoor and Indeed about long-term labor market trends states that "remote work is here to stay.""The acute need to work from home has ended, yet the ability and option to work from anywhere is thriving," the trends report stated. "On Indeed, job postings advertising remote work are above where they were prior to the pandemic, albeit their numbers have slightly decreased since their pandemic heights."People don't just want flexibility in terms of remote or hybrid work models but having flexibility in when they work.The following are the 15 companies that made Indeed's ranking of the most flexible companies. We included their flexibility and work happiness scores at the time of reporting from their Indeed pages.

  • Slide 2 of 16: Flexibility score: 75Work happiness score: 71Amber Wiseley, vice president of Global Benefits at Intel, said in a statement:"At Intel, we believe in a flexible, dynamic workplace that ensures equitable access for all. A big part of achieving this is our hybrid-first approach, which means many of our employees split their time between working remotely and in the office. We're not mandating a single approach regarding the number of days per week all employees should be on-site or how people should collaborate."

  • Slide 3 of 16: Flexibility score: 75Work happiness score: 72

  • Slide 4 of 16: Flexibility score: 74Work happiness score: 75

  • Slide 5 of 16: Flexibility score: 65Work happiness score: 60Nicole Zube, SpartanNash chief human resources officer, said in a statement:"Retail associates have the ability to swap shifts with others through tools in the payroll system and to schedule shifts around their preferred work times. All benefits-eligible associates have the flexibility to pick from a variety of benefits plans based on their individual or family needs, the ability to carry over PTO to the next calendar year, the opportunity to have paid parental leave, and the ability for hourly associates to use PTO in as short as one-hour increments. In addition, corporate associates have flexible hours and the opportunity for remote work based on role, the ability to buy an extra week of PTO, a grocery delivery service to the Grand Rapids office, and a 'Helping Hands Day' to volunteer in the local community."

  • Slide 6 of 16: Flexibility score: 78Work happiness score: 71Nickle LaMoreaux, senior vice president and chief human resources officer at IBM, said in a statement:"At IBM, most of our employees are co-located near an IBM office or client, and routinely collaborate and co-create in face-to-face environments. We coined the term 'work-life integration' over 20 years ago and flexibility has always been at the heart of our workplace. IBM's approach is focused on intentional flexibility, with collaboration decided by team- and job-based norms."

  • Slide 7 of 16: Flexibility score: 72Work happiness score: 72

  • Slide 8 of 16: Flexibility score: 74Work happiness score: 69Melanie Heitkamp, vice president of talent at Northrop Grumman, said in a statement:"At Northrop Grumman we embrace the diverse experiences and perspectives of our people including the diversity of work styles. We enable our workforce to do their best work through flexible work arrangements that balance workforce needs and mission requirements. Our workforce can count on us to offer resources for flexibility that bolster their physical, social and emotional well-being and to leverage collaboration tools that nurture a culture of belonging."

  • Slide 9 of 16: Flexibility score: 77Work happiness score: 70A Booz Allen spokesperson said in a statement:"Booz Allen has always embraced the need for flexibility in the workplace, but this need became even more apparent during the pandemic, especially for working parents and caregivers. We make four types of flexible work arrangements available to help employees balance their professional and personal commitments: telework, flexible full-time scheduling (i.e., compressed work schedules), part-time employment, and job sharing (full-time positions filled by two or more part-time individuals)."

  • Slide 10 of 16: Flexibility score: 81Work happiness score: 78Chris Capossela, executive vice president and chief marketing officer at Microsoft, wrote in a February blog post:"We know there's not a singular solution to how people work best, which is why we believe flexibility should be at the forefront of our evolving hybrid workplace. Our approach to hybrid embraces schedule flexibility as standard for most roles and provides employees with the opportunity to determine how and where they work best, while making sure an individual's plans align to the team agreements set with their manager."

  • Slide 11 of 16: Flexibility score: 84Work happiness score: 76

  • Slide 12 of 16: Flexibility score: 77Work happiness score: 79A Delta spokesperson said in a statement:"At Delta, we've tailored the concept of workplace flexibility to meet the specific needs of our people and the unique demands of the airline industry. Flexibility for our people can materialize in a variety of ways, ranging from customizable schedules for many frontline employees to career mobility both geographically and the ability to pursue growth opportunities across business units such as a program that will support Delta employees who want to become pilots. Our people, who personify Delta's unwavering commitment to service and safety, are empowered to define flexibility in a way that will best facilitate their success and wellbeing both on the job and in life."

  • Slide 13 of 16: Flexibility score: 80Work happiness score: 71Jenn Saavedra, chief human resources officer of Dell Technologies, said in a statement:"We've offered flexibility and the ability to work remotely for more than 12 years. We believe work is an outcome, not a time or place. Today, our work model shows that we're succeeding with a positive and healthy organizational culture. We promise our team members they will be part of a great company that is invested in their career growth. We partner in their achievement, balance and sense of connection, and prioritize building a diverse and inclusive team. Add all that up, and it equals a high-performing, accountable, flexible culture."

  • Slide 14 of 16: Flexibility score: 73Work happiness score: 73

  • Slide 15 of 16: Flexibility score: 80Work happiness score: 78A Google spokesperson said in a statement:"As we've said before, the future of work is flexible. Our approach to hybrid work is based on employee feedback and designed to maximize flexibility while finding intentional ways to maintain connections to teams. We continue to provide top of market compensation across salary, equity, leave and a suite of benefits."

  • Slide 16 of 16: Flexibility score: 84Work happiness score: 79 Jim Curcio, director of global benefits at Intuit, said in a statement:"Becoming a flexible place to work starts with listening to employees. Intuit has a best practice, as part of our design thinking process, that we call 'follow-me-homes' where we observe customers doing actual work in their real environments in order to gain deep empathy. As a benefits and HR team, it's our job to see our employees as customers and observe how and when they're working best. At the start of the pandemic in particular, we gained a better understanding of what some employees need to feel fully supported at home and at work. As a result of these learnings, we've introduced alternative and flexible work arrangements to all employees including the ability to work reduced hours, adjusted days of working, and flexible work hours. We also created and funded supplemental sick time and enhanced our family support time policy to ensure employees are fully supported to take the time off needed to care for themselves and their families."

Here are the top 15 companies for job seekers looking for flexibility at work

  • Flexibility, such as remote work or flexible hours, can be a key benefit workers want in their job.
  • Indeed looked at what companies stand out for their flexibility.
  • Looking at some 2021 Fortune 500 Index companies, Indeed found Intuit as the most flexible.

Given the ongoing popularity of flexibility at work, companies looking to make more hires during the tight labor market may want to see how their work-life balance offerings compare to their peers.

Intuit, Google, and Apple led the way in one ranking from career site Indeed of the “most flexible companies.”

“Indeed compiled this list by including companies that are members of the 2021 Fortune 500 Index with 1,500+ data points,” a post with the ranking stated. “These companies are the most highly rated on ‘flexibility’ between September 2021 – September 2022.”

Flexibility for this ranking means in terms of where and when employees are expected to work. Based on Indeed’s analysis, Intuit ranked number one.

“To be a flexible employer, we must ensure employees and teams have the autonomy to work how and when needed,” Jim Curcio, director of global benefits at Intuit, said in a statement to Insider.

“For our tech teams that are co-creating products and need synchronous communication, we’ve made updates to many of our physical office locations to enable teams to work in person for longer periods of time,” Curcio added. “Similarly, we’ve made technological updates to ensure that employees working remotely feel they’re part of the conversation even when folks are in person in a meeting room.”

According to a post from FlexJobs, a remote work job site, flexibility has different benefits. This includes helping recruit and retain workers as well as can help with employee engagement.

“When you let people work flexibly, you say that you trust them to get their work done no matter how, when, or where that happens,” Jessica Howington of FlexJobs wrote in the post.

It seems remote work will continue to be a popular flexible benefit that recruiters can offer to help attract and retain workers.

“I definitely think remote work will continue to thrive,” Svenja Gudell, chief economist of Indeed, previously told Insider. Gudell added that searches for remote positions on the career site Indeed “hasn’t really come down.”

A recent report from Glassdoor and Indeed about long-term labor market trends states that “remote work is here to stay.”

“The acute need to work from home has ended, yet the ability and option to work from anywhere is thriving,” the trends report stated. “On Indeed, job postings advertising remote work are above where they were prior to the pandemic, albeit their numbers have slightly decreased since their pandemic heights.”

People don’t just want flexibility in terms of remote or hybrid work models but having flexibility in when they work.

The following are the 15 companies that made Indeed’s ranking of the most flexible companies. We included their flexibility and work happiness scores at the time of reporting from their Indeed pages.

15. Intel Corporation

Flexibility score: 75

Work happiness score: 71

Amber Wiseley, vice president of Global Benefits at Intel, said in a statement:

“At Intel, we believe in a flexible, dynamic workplace that ensures equitable access for all. A big part of achieving this is our hybrid-first approach, which means many of our employees split their time between working remotely and in the office. We’re not mandating a single approach regarding the number of days per week all employees should be on-site or how people should collaborate.”

14. Johnson & Johnson

Flexibility score: 75

Work happiness score: 72

13. United Airlines

Flexibility score: 74

Work happiness score: 75

12. SpartanNash

Flexibility score: 65

Work happiness score: 60

Nicole Zube, SpartanNash chief human resources officer, said in a statement:

“Retail associates have the ability to swap shifts with others through tools in the payroll system and to schedule shifts around their preferred work times. All benefits-eligible associates have the flexibility to pick from a variety of benefits plans based on their individual or family needs, the ability to carry over PTO to the next calendar year, the opportunity to have paid parental leave, and the ability for hourly associates to use PTO in as short as one-hour increments. In addition, corporate associates have flexible hours and the opportunity for remote work based on role, the ability to buy an extra week of PTO, a grocery delivery service to the Grand Rapids office, and a ‘Helping Hands Day’ to volunteer in the local community.”

11. IBM

Flexibility score: 78

Work happiness score: 71

Nickle LaMoreaux, senior vice president and chief human resources officer at IBM, said in a statement:

“At IBM, most of our employees are co-located near an IBM office or client, and routinely collaborate and co-create in face-to-face environments. We coined the term ‘work-life integration’ over 20 years ago and flexibility has always been at the heart of our workplace. IBM’s approach is focused on intentional flexibility, with collaboration decided by team- and job-based norms.”

10. Nike

Flexibility score: 72

Work happiness score: 72

9. Northrop Grumman

Flexibility score: 74

Work happiness score: 69

Melanie Heitkamp, vice president of talent at Northrop Grumman, said in a statement:

“At Northrop Grumman we embrace the diverse experiences and perspectives of our people including the diversity of work styles. We enable our workforce to do their best work through flexible work arrangements that balance workforce needs and mission requirements. Our workforce can count on us to offer resources for flexibility that bolster their physical, social and emotional well-being and to leverage collaboration tools that nurture a culture of belonging.”

8. Booz Allen Hamilton

Flexibility score: 77

Work happiness score: 70

A Booz Allen spokesperson said in a statement:

“Booz Allen has always embraced the need for flexibility in the workplace, but this need became even more apparent during the pandemic, especially for working parents and caregivers. We make four types of flexible work arrangements available to help employees balance their professional and personal commitments: telework, flexible full-time scheduling (i.e., compressed work schedules), part-time employment, and job sharing (full-time positions filled by two or more part-time individuals).”

7. Microsoft

Flexibility score: 81

Work happiness score: 78

Chris Capossela, executive vice president and chief marketing officer at Microsoft, wrote in a February blog post:

“We know there’s not a singular solution to how people work best, which is why we believe flexibility should be at the forefront of our evolving hybrid workplace. Our approach to hybrid embraces schedule flexibility as standard for most roles and provides employees with the opportunity to determine how and where they work best, while making sure an individual’s plans align to the team agreements set with their manager.”

6. Cisco Systems

Flexibility score: 84

Work happiness score: 76

5. Delta

Flexibility score: 77

Work happiness score: 79

A Delta spokesperson said in a statement:

“At Delta, we’ve tailored the concept of workplace flexibility to meet the specific needs of our people and the unique demands of the airline industry. Flexibility for our people can materialize in a variety of ways, ranging from customizable schedules for many frontline employees to career mobility both geographically and the ability to pursue growth opportunities across business units such as a program that will support Delta employees who want to become pilots. Our people, who personify Delta’s unwavering commitment to service and safety, are empowered to define flexibility in a way that will best facilitate their success and wellbeing both on the job and in life.”

4. Dell

Flexibility score: 80

Work happiness score: 71

Jenn Saavedra, chief human resources officer of Dell Technologies, said in a statement:

“We’ve offered flexibility and the ability to work remotely for more than 12 years. We believe work is an outcome, not a time or place. Today, our work model shows that we’re succeeding with a positive and healthy organizational culture. We promise our team members they will be part of a great company that is invested in their career growth. We partner in their achievement, balance and sense of connection, and prioritize building a diverse and inclusive team. Add all that up, and it equals a high-performing, accountable, flexible culture.”

3. Apple

Flexibility score: 73

Work happiness score: 73

2. Google

Flexibility score: 80

Work happiness score: 78

A Google spokesperson said in a statement:

“As we’ve said before, the future of work is flexible. Our approach to hybrid work is based on employee feedback and designed to maximize flexibility while finding intentional ways to maintain connections to teams. We continue to provide top of market compensation across salary, equity, leave and a suite of benefits.”

1. Intuit

Flexibility score: 84

Work happiness score: 79

Jim Curcio, director of global benefits at Intuit, said in a statement:

“Becoming a flexible place to work starts with listening to employees. Intuit has a best practice, as part of our design thinking process, that we call ‘follow-me-homes’ where we observe customers doing actual work in their real environments in order to gain deep empathy. As a benefits and HR team, it’s our job to see our employees as customers and observe how and when they’re working best. At the start of the pandemic in particular, we gained a better understanding of what some employees need to feel fully supported at home and at work. As a result of these learnings, we’ve introduced alternative and flexible work arrangements to all employees including the ability to work reduced hours, adjusted days of working, and flexible work hours. We also created and funded supplemental sick time and enhanced our family support time policy to ensure employees are fully supported to take the time off needed to care for themselves and their families.”

16/16 SLIDES

Sir James Dyson thinks the UK’s plans to allow employees to continue working from home are “staggeringly self-defeating.”

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“The government talks loftily of the UK being a ‘science and technology superpower’ while doing everything it can to achieve the exact opposite,” the founder and chief engineer of multinational technology company Dyson wrote in a December 8 commentary piece for The Times.

Under new legislation, workers in the UK will have the right to request flexible working arrangements even on their first day of work, per a December 5 press release from the UK government. This policy shift falls under the government’s plans to make flexible working the default.

However, such a move — which comes during a global recession — is a “misguided approach” that will “generate friction between employers and employees,” Dyson wrote.

Without control over where their employees can work, “high-growth, ambitious companies” like Dyson — which has 3,500 employees in Britain — will hesitate to invest in the UK, the businessman added.

“We have seen from our own experience at Dyson during periods of government-enforced working from home how deeply inefficient it is,” Dyson wrote. “It prevents the collaboration and in-person training that we need to develop new technology and maintain competitiveness against global rivals.”

The billionaire also took a swipe at the legislators who were in favor of the reform, writing that the policy was “aided by the many civil servants who enjoyed working from home, despite the shockingly bad public service they often provide and their terrible track record of delivery.”

Dyson, who’s currently worth an estimated $15.4 billion, is not the first business leader to rally against flexible work arrangements for employees.

In August, JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon pushed back against remote work, saying that it “slows down honesty and decision making.”

In November, just two weeks after taking over the company, Elon Musk sent a 2:30 a.m. email to Twitter staff, requesting them to return to the office for “a minimum of 40 hours per week.”

Dyson did not immediately respond to Insider’s request for comment.

Continue Reading

Microsoft and partners may be compensated if you purchase something through recommended links in this article.

Intuit, Google, and Apple led the way in one ranking from career site Indeed of the “most flexible companies.”

Source: https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/news/billionaire-james-dyson-says-letting-people-work-from-home-is-staggeringly-self-defeating-and-will-cause-friction-between-employers-and-employees/ar-AA15aDoK

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Donovan Larsen Donovan LarsenDecember 13, 2022
0 179 8 minutes read
Donovan Larsen

Donovan Larsen

Donovan is a columnist and associate editor at the Dark News. He has written on everything from the politics to diversity issues in the workplace.

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