Arvind Krishna, CEO of International Business Machines (IBM), has warned the company’s 260,000 workers that remote work might harm their career advancement.
While the rise of remote work has boosted IBM’s hybrid-cloud computing business, Krishna stated that he is not forcing anyone to return to the office just yet, but those who do not will struggle to advance, particularly to managerial positions. In a recent interview, Krishna stated that being a remote people manager is difficult since managing people involves occasional face-to-face connection.
Krishna’s comments add to the continuing discussion about the benefits of remote vs in-person employment, with some CEOs feeling that employees, particularly younger workers, must be physically present for learning and mentorship possibilities.
Others argue that remote workers are more content and productive. However, data from economists tracking work-from-home trends show that office-based employees spend 25% more time on professional development than their remote counterparts.
Krishna urges workers to come into the office at least three days per week, and remote arrangements are best suited for certain “individual contributor” positions such as customer support or software development. While approximately 80% of IBM employees work part-time from home.
Krishna claims that remote workers may miss out on important skills such as dealing with difficult clients or making trade-offs when designing a new product. He believes that remote employees may have trouble transferring to new professions because they lack experience in a different setting.
The sources for this piece include an article in Bloomberg.
