Elon Musk is wrong about remote work!
The results are out… Elon Musk is wrong about remote work and we now have the research to back it up!
"I'm a big believer that people are more productive when they're in person," Elon Musk bluntly told CNBC. "People should get off their goddamn moral high horse with their work-from-home b*******."
And he is far from the only one who thinks so. Netflix's CEO, Reed Hastings, has called remote work a "pure negative." JPMorgan Chase boss Jamie Dimon opined about remote work, "It doesn't work for those who want to hustle." (What does hustle even mean here?)
These companies and CEOs have used Return To Office (RTO) mandates to reassert control over employees, blaming remote work for poor performance while believing RTO boosts firm values and financial outcomes.
Elon Musk on Remote Work: A Staunch Opponent
Elon Musk has become one of the most vocal critics of remote work, calling it “morally wrong” and a “privilege” rooted in the COVID era. In interviews and online posts, Musk has consistently argued that it’s unjust for office workers to stay home while others—like factory workers and delivery drivers—have no choice but to show up in person.
For Musk, remote work isn’t just about productivity. He sees it as a cultural divide, where the “laptop class” expects comfort and flexibility while others carry the burden of in-person labor. His hardline stance has sparked widespread debate among business leaders, economists, and employees alike.
Return-to-Office Mandates at Tesla, SpaceX, and X
Musk’s anti-remote stance is more than talk. At Tesla and SpaceX, he implemented strict return-to-office policies that required employees to be physically present for at least 40 hours a week. He claimed that being visible in the office was essential for leadership, collaboration, and company culture.
When Musk took over Twitter (now X), he issued an ultimatum: return to the office or resign. That message was delivered via a blunt email that quickly went viral. Many employees chose to leave rather than give up remote flexibility, triggering a wave of attrition and public criticism. Still, Musk stood firm, arguing that serious companies require serious people—on site.
Extending the Battle to the Federal Workforce
In late 2024, Musk took his campaign against remote work beyond the private sector. In partnership with political allies, he advocated for eliminating remote jobs across federal agencies. He welcomed the idea that stricter return-to-office mandates would trigger more resignations, stating that attrition was “a good thing” for government efficiency.
This approach drew praise from some who believed the federal workforce needed reshaping—but it also faced intense backlash. Critics accused Musk of pushing a private-sector mindset onto public institutions without considering the different goals and challenges of government work. Unions and public employees pushed back, noting that many federal workers had already returned to the office, and that remote flexibility had helped with recruitment, retention, and cost savings.
The Backlash: Is Remote Work Really a Privilege?
Musk’s comments have fueled a larger conversation about the role and value of remote work in today’s economy. While he frames it as an elite privilege, others argue that remote flexibility supports equity—giving opportunities to parents, people with disabilities, and those living in underserved areas.
Economists and HR experts point out that forcing a full return to the office can backfire. It may lead to lower job satisfaction, higher turnover, and difficulty attracting talent. Research from multiple government and private agencies has shown that remote and hybrid workers are often just as productive—if not more so—than their in-office peers.
Rather than seeing remote work as a problem, many see it as a solution to outdated models of labor, commuting, and control.
Why Elon Musk’s Stance on Remote Work Matters
Elon Musk isn’t just a tech CEO—he’s a trendsetter. When he speaks, other companies listen. His aggressive push for return-to-office policies has influenced decisions at other major corporations, some of which have followed his lead with their own in-office mandates.
But the landscape is still shifting. While some companies double down on office presence, others are embracing hybrid models, asynchronous work, and digital collaboration tools that make location less important. The future of work is far from settled.
Musk’s views serve as a clear example of one side of the spectrum—where control, visibility, and tradition outweigh flexibility. Understanding his position helps employees and leaders navigate their own choices about how and where work gets done.
What Remote Workers Can Learn from the Musk Debate
Whether you agree with Musk or not, his position makes one thing clear: remote workers need to make their value visible. In a world where output is harder to observe, remote professionals must communicate more clearly, deliver consistently, and advocate for results-based metrics.
Here are key takeaways:
Be results-focused: Show outcomes, not just hours.
Document your work: Keep records of progress, updates, and deliverables.
Stay connected: Don’t disappear—communicate proactively and collaborate intentionally.
Support the system: If remote work benefits you, make the case for why it works—for your team, your boss, and your organization.
Remote work advocates lacked evidence to counter these claims, UNTIL NOW!
A new paper by two University of Pittsburgh researchers looked at the financial performance and employee satisfaction of S&P 500 firms before and after they issued RTO mandates.
Their findings showed that RTO mandates often followed a dip in a company's financial performance, but didn't reveal any uptick in profitability or stock performance associated with having more bodies back in office chairs.
However, what did increase post-mandates was, to no one's surprise, the number of employees expressing dissatisfaction with their work on Glassdoor!!
The researchers are blunt in expressing: "Results of our determinant analyses are consistent with managers using RTO mandates to reassert control over employees and blame employees as a scapegoat for bad firm performance. Also, our findings do not support the argument that managers impose mandates because they believe RTO increases firm values."
To be fair to Elon Musk, we acknowledge that certain roles cannot be done remotely—we’re not unrealistic in thinking we can all build spaceships from home 😜
Also worth pointing out is that some data supporting in-person work is recommended for early-stage companies and also suggests that younger workers, those just starting in a role, or those engaged in creative brainstorming do better-working face-to-face.
However, the latest research from the University of Pittsburgh paints a strong picture that many higher-up commands to return to the office are more about ego, control, and fear than any actual benefit to the company.
So what's your take on this argument? Return-to-office or…
REMOTE WORK FOR ME!
Stay rebellious,
Michelle
*This weekly article is credited to Inc.
*Photo credit Tayfun Coskun/Anadolu via Getty Images