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Google‘s former CEO Eric Schmidt recently retracted his statement claiming Google is lagging behind in the AI race due to its remote-work policy.
“Google decided that maintaining a work-life balance and permitting remote work was more crucial than winning,” Schmidt stated in the recording. “The reason startups succeed is that their people work exceptionally hard,” Schmidt added.
He inferred that new company founders may be reluctant to allow remote work if they wish to compete with other startups.
However, Eric Schmidt has now softened his stance. In a recent email to The Wall Street Journal, Schmidt admitted, “I misspoke about Google and their work hours.”
“I regret my error,” he told the publication.
Schmidt provided no further elaboration. A representative for Schmidt was unavailable for comment.
Remote Work: A Divisive Topic Among Tech CEOs
The ex-Google chief’s comments echo sentiments previously expressed by several tech industry leaders regarding remote work, despite mixed research findings.
OpenAI CEO Sam Altman articulated in Fortune Magazine that allowing employees to work remotely “full-time indefinitely” was one of the tech sector’s biggest missteps.
“That experiment is over, and given the current technology, full remote work, especially for startups, is not feasible,” he remarked.
Despite this, OpenAI continues to operate with a mix of hybrid and remote work policies.
Different Approaches to Remote Work Policies
A spokesperson for OpenAI confirmed to Business Insider that the company expects in-person employees to work from the office three days a week, while also managing some fully remote workers.
Similarly, Google mandates that most employees must be present at least three days a week, as mentioned in a company blog.
Google’s spokesperson also did not return requests for comments.
Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff, previously a chronic remote worker, has acknowledged the necessity of merging remote and in-person work.
“While some engineers thrive at home, salespeople are often more productive in the office,” stated Benioff.
Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg argued that employees working from home are less efficient, citing internal performance data indicating higher productivity among in-office engineers.
In an interview with CNBC, Tesla CEO Elon Musk called remote work “morally wrong”.
Debate on Productivity and Innovation
Research on remote work’s productivity impact has been inconclusive. Some studies highlight increased productivity, while others indicate a negative effect. A Goldman Sachs analysis suggested that these discrepancies stem from varying methods of productivity measurement, as previously reported by BI.
One notable study, which assessed 20 million scientific papers and 4 million patent applications, discovered that in-person work significantly boosts innovation, reported BI’s Aki Ito.
“Not all companies should revert to full on-site work,” Carl Benedikt Frey, an Oxford University economist and coauthor of the study, told BI. “But if the aim is to develop groundbreaking technologies, more on-site presence is advisable.”
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