Today I must give props to Tim Denning, who nails it with this post on his blog. The latest complaining person of wealth targeting working remotely is David Sacks, a podcaster, venture capitalist, and former PayPal bigwig.

I think it has to be noted, outside of Denning’s takedown of Sacks, that Sacks is buddies with both Elon Musk and Ron DeSantis. While I’m going to try not to make too much content on here political, it has to be noted that Musk is a Libertarian-leaning Republican, and of course DeSantis is looking for any endorsement he can get from the wealthy for his presidential candidacy.

Musk, of course, is well-known for his hatred of working from home. He makes a big show of how many hours he spends in the office, only takes 3-4 days of vacation a year, and sleeps in his office while he pulls massive amounts of hours. He has stated that he wants his workers to know that the CEO is working harder than anyone else in the office and thus whatever pain they’re feeling, he’s feeling it too but a little bit more. There’s several problems with this argument and his entire way of thinking:

  1. As noted by Gary Vaynerchuck, as well as other compassionate leaders, to expect your employees to put in anywhere near the same hours as you is ridiculous, since they don’t own the biz.
  2. It would seem obvious, but some people just want to spend their lives at work. Others don’t. If these gentlemen want to spend 100+ hours in a week at an office, that’s great, but to expect the same out of your staff is ludicrous.
  3. The supposition that a CEO working excessive hours in an office is more productive than a high-performing worker who values rest and balance is at best a stretch.
  4. CEOs don’t actually build anything. They supervise, rally, motivate, create ideas and strategies, and come up with ways to make money and value.
  5. Overworked employees have been shown to be less productive due to stress, lack of sleep, and simple fear of job security.
  6. Some employees actually like their families and want to see them more than in passing. Or, if they’re single, they might want to have some semblance of a life outside of work.

It’s unfortunate to see this continual doubling and tripling down of attitude, but until the billionaire class stops touting their way as the only way, we can’t let this conversation go. More small businesses will continue to be remote or hybrid primarily, and their continued existence will likely compete with the stubborn leaders who need to see workers in order to feel validation.