From: allin
The rise of remote work has sparked a significant debate among business leaders regarding its impact on organizational efficiency, creativity, and company culture. This discussion often centers on the efficacy of virtual meetings and the broader structure of modern corporations [00:20:37].
Jamie Dimon’s Critique of Remote Work
Jamie Dimon, CEO of JPMorgan Chase, has been a vocal critic of certain aspects of remote work, particularly the use of Zoom for meetings [00:20:34]. He expressed frustration with employees who are “looking at your mail, sending text to each other” during virtual calls, arguing that this behavior “slows down efficiency, creativity, creates rudeness” [00:20:49]. Dimon emphasized the importance of undivided attention and focus in meetings, stating he doesn’t bring his phone or send texts in his own meetings [00:21:05].
Dimon also raised concerns about the impact on “the Young Generation,” suggesting they are “being damaged by this” and “being left behind socially” due to reduced in-person interaction [00:21:13]. He asserted that great companies are not built by adopting the “semi-disease that everybody else does” [00:21:32].
Responses from Leaders
John Collison of Stripe noted that while Dimon is “right on some points,” remote work also offers benefits such as a larger talent pool and solving the “two-body problem” for couples where one partner’s job dictates location [00:22:30]. He observed that Stripe’s approach is similar to pre-pandemic times, with most people working in an office, alongside remote employees [00:22:11].
David Friedberg highlighted a broader shift in leadership tenor, where business leaders are “starting to step up and speak their mind and speak more directly” [00:24:03]. This shift moves away from a “coddled employee workforces” approach, emphasizing that a leader’s job is to ensure the organization achieves its mission, not necessarily to create a “family workplace for everyone to be happy all the time” [00:25:01].
Organizational Bloat and Efficiency
Dimon also criticized “bloated bureaucracy” at large companies, stating that every area “should be looking to be 10% more efficient” [00:25:26]. He confidently claimed he could reduce headcount by 10% and increase efficiency, pointing to excessive meetings and committee approvals as major culprits [00:25:31].
Chamath Palihapitiya agreed that a “lot of the organizational bloat has evolved because of the way that people have responded to how you use technology” [00:26:20]. He argued that the adoption of off-the-shelf software, despite promises of efficiency, has led to rigid job demarcations and bureaucracy, rather than addressing root causes [00:27:02].
Chamath noted that companies like Facebook, Google, Tesla, and SpaceX, which “design a lot of stuff internally that’s custom built,” often show higher revenue per employee, indicating greater efficiency [00:27:52]. This perspective highlights a potential impact of austerity and efficiency in tech companies in their internal operations.
Meeting Culture and Productivity
Shopify’s CEO, Toby, famously “purged all meetings” at the beginning of a year, forcing employees to re-evaluate their necessity. John Collison finds this idea tempting and agrees that “many organizational problems are in fact software problems” that could be solved by “literally like… deleting all the meetings” [00:30:02].
Chamath added that “other than Engineers who are… naive but can be extremely productive from day one,” most early-career professionals “are in a j-curve where they are negatively contributing” initially [00:28:45]. He stressed the importance of in-office mentoring to help these young people avoid being “totally lost” or “completely unproductive and useless” [00:29:09].
John Collison confirmed Stripe’s data, even pre-COVID, showed that remote work “is not good for early career people” in terms of productivity and personal well-being, describing it as “solitary confinement” for young professionals [00:31:04]. However, he cautioned against designing policies around the “bottom 5% of the company,” as many remote individuals are “outrageously productive” [00:30:41].
Patrick Collison emphasized the need for an “aggressive Performance Management culture” to address low performance [00:32:24]. He argued against a “normative moralizing perspective” on remote work, instead advocating for an “empirical and objective” approach based on data [00:32:51]. He pointed out that different organizations and work types may thrive with different models, citing examples like Nvidia’s flexible approach and Jane Street’s belief in colocation [00:33:18]. This highlights the varied perspectives on HR and DEI in tech companies as it relates to work models.
Despite these discussions, there’s a recognition of overall progress: labor productivity in the US is up 20% in the last decade, with AI productivity and economic impacts and advanced tools expected to further increase this [00:34:01].