For the past 12-14 months, millions of U.S. workers have experienced the work-from-home dynamic. And millions have found they enjoy some of the benefits.

But have they ever wondered what the big bosses think?

While his opinion certainly doesn’t represent that of all business leaders, WeWork CEO Sandeep Mathrani said employees who are choosing to remain in a working-from-home situation are “least engaged” with his firm.

OK, Mr. Mathrani, just how much time do employees need to commit to a face-to-face environment these days?

Mathrani said those workers, defined as “overly engaged,” prefer to be in the office at least two-thirds of the time.

“No one is saying they don’t want to go to work. They are saying ‘I wanna go to work two or three days a week’ and ‘I’d like to work from home a day a week,'” Mathrani said during the Wall Street Journal’s Future of Everything festival on Wednesday.

“It’s also pretty obvious that those who are overly engaged with the company want to go to the office two-thirds of the time at least. Those who are least engaged are very comfortable working from home.”

Mathrani said that, in the wake of the pandemic and subsequent gradual reopening, the office is an important part of building company culture, collaborating, and innovating.

WeWork, it should be noted, thrives on people working from dedicated office spaces – not exactly a work-from-home model.

A Business Insider story, citing an Upwork survey, said workers reported feeling more productive at home. 

And some business leaders told Insider remote work brought more choices from various talent pools, increasing diversity and the ability to retain top employees.

Twitter and Facebook now offer work-from-home options, though, JP Morgan CEO Jamie Dimon has said he expects employees back in the office within weeks, echoing actions at Amazon.

 

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