Elon Musk's first email to Twitter staff was a doozy, as the owner, sole director, and CEO of the social media platform axed the company's progressive and flexible work-from-home policy for all employees.
There's no denying that Musk has shaken up the social media landscape, making (and unmaking) decisions on the fly to improve Twitter enough for it to be profitable.
In the face of an advertiser exodus and the generally chaotic vibe on threads across the platform, Musk has taken aim at the remote work policy of Twitter, because we're sure that's the problem.
Musk Ends Remote Work at Twitter in First Email
There's “no way to sugarcoat the message,” Musk said in his first email to staff, emphasizing the looming recession and Twitter's very obvious and public economic problems. The email, obtained by Bloomberg, went on to essentially ban remote work for all remaining Twitter employees, unless you have a really good reason.
“Obviously, if you are physically unable to travel to an office or have a critical personal obligation, then your absence is understandable.” – Elon Musk's email to staff
Employees were told that the new in-office policy would go into effect immediately and that all staff would be expected to be in the office for a minimum of 40 hours per week.
The move is a swift departure from Twitter's previous work-from-anywhere policy, which was considered one of the most flexible in the tech industry.
Should I End Remote Work at My Business?
Elon Musk's opinion of remote work is no secret. He's been a vocal opponent of the hybrid work movement that took hold during the height of the pandemic, and he's implemented policies at his many companies to that effect.
“[Remote work] tricked people into thinking that you don't actually need to work hard.” – Elon Musk, in tweet from June
However, there are plenty of statistics that prove the Twitter owner wrong on remote work. For one, hybrid work policies are a fool-proof retention strategy, with one study showing that 64% of employees would look for a new job if asked to return to the office full time.
Moreover, people are getting more work done by avoiding commutes and dodging office chit-chat, all while working in their pajamas. In fact, another study found that 77% of workers showed an increase in productivity when working from home.
“Most of the evidence shows that productivity has increased while people stayed at home,” – Natacha Postel-Vinay, an economic historian at the London School of Economics, to Business Insider.
On top of all that, remote work has been a boon for the mental health of average employees. Studies found that employees working from home were more optimistic and had more job satisfaction than in-office workers. And with all that chaos going on over at Twitter, employees are going to need all the mental health they can get.
If you want to ensure that your business retains top talent that is productive and healthy, you have to invest in it. Tools like CRMs, password managers, and web conferencing platforms can help make team members feel appreciated while allowing them the flexibility to work from home.
