Steve Schwarzman of the Blackstone group said staff want to work from home so they can save money

The boss of the world’s biggest commercial landlord has accused remote workers of staying away from the office because it means they “don’t work as hard” and can save money.

Steve Schwarzman, the chief executive of investment firm the Blackstone group, made the claims about hybrid staff while speaking on a panel at the Future Investment Initiative summit in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

In remarks first reported by Bloomberg, he said employees had kept working from home because “they didn’t work as hard, regardless of what they tell you” and also due to the savings they make on their daily commute, lunches and work attire.

  • Boozilla@lemmy.world
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    1 year ago

    Let’s assume for the sake of argument he’s correct. So fucking what? Wealth concentration is wage theft. Profits are at historic highs. They owe it to the workers to put down the fucking whip. It’s better for the environment. Every worker who wants to telecommute (in jobs where it’s possible) should be allowed to do so. It’s unethical not to. It should be made illegal, IMO.

    • WindyRebel@lemmy.world
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      1 year ago

      Oh, well, we’ve been over producing by taking in extra tasks and not getting raises for many years with extra work while in the office. I guess this is just our reciprocity and evening out our personal time.

      I wonder if I sent him a pizza, would he feel better about it all?

      Oh. And you expect me to be in the office? Then you should make an appearance daily in the office. I don’t care if you’re halfway across the US - you better show up to say hi and prove you’re there you fucking slacker.

      • Snot Flickerman@lemmy.blahaj.zone
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        1 year ago

        Oh. And you expect me to be in the office? Then you should make an appearance daily in the office. I don’t care if you’re halfway across the US - you better show up to say hi and prove you’re there you fucking slacker.

        This is the biggest reason people don’t respect the Return to Office mandate of some companies. If the C-suite jabronis can’t be arsed to show up and it’s okay for them to telecommute, they’ve given away the game. It’s rules-for-thee-not-for-me and it’s as simple as that. Treating adults well into their professional careers like children who must be watched endlessly is a slap in the face to these professionals. It’s why more often than not they’re just finding a different job that does respect them.

        This is such short-term thinking. They’re going to lose their most productive and most valuable employees to this, and then their business will slowly fold like a flan in a cupboard.

        • prole@sh.itjust.works
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          1 year ago

          Treating adults well into their professional careers like children who must be watched endlessly is a slap in the face to these professionals. It’s why more often than not they’re just finding a different job that does respect them.

          This is why so many people decided to just retire, rather than return to work after COVID.

      • prole@sh.itjust.works
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        1 year ago

        This is why we need more unions. Without collective bargaining, workers essentially have zero power in this dynamic.

    • Powerpoint@lemmy.ca
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      1 year ago

      Good thing he’s not correct though. Remote workers are more productive and save businesses money. This guy is just a greasy greedy fuck.

      • Boozilla@lemmy.world
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        1 year ago

        Yup, I’m with you on that. Just pointing out that he’s still on the wrong side of it, either way.

    • thisbenzingring@lemmy.sdf.org
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      1 year ago

      These people do not care about the environment. They don’t care about social debt to the workers. They especially do not care about ethical behavior.

      • aesthelete@lemmy.world
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        1 year ago

        They’re the howling ghouls of neofuedalism. They would legalize slavery again in an instant if they could.