The Real Reason Remote Work Fails
Ten days ago, Elon Musk told staff, “Anyone who wishes to do remote work must be in the office for a minimum (and I mean *minimum*) of 40 hours per week or depart Tesla.”
Ordering people to stay in the office is an option, but I don’t think it’s a realistic one. Remote work is here to stay, and any company can make it a permanent element of growth and success, if they work at it.
Last week, at two of the companies where I am on leadership teams, we addressed real-time examples of when remote work fails. The conversations centered around three people who are no longer employed with either organization, all of whom had “other jobs.” Our first issue was discovered on Linkedin. A week after being let go, the manager of a key territory updated their profile to reflect that they had been working full time in a competitive job for over a year. The manager had been under-performing and, in hindsight, given too many “last chances” prior to being terminated.
Next, we discussed having recently parted ways with two teammates who had openly declared side hustles. All three of these individuals were talented and had significant potential, yet all failed to either take the initiative or find enough time to make an impact within their established roles.
