Ambitious people don’t work from home, says CEO

The CEO of Nothing, a UK smartphone startup, has criticised flexible working culture as being “not compatible with a high ambition level” in an open letter he posted on LinkedIn.

Carl Pei, who founded the startup in 2020, told his 450 employees to come to the office five days a week to achieve Nothing’s objective of becoming a “generation-defining company”.

The statement echoes those shared by established businesses demanding a return to the office this year. Startups have tended to be more accepting of remote workers. 

However, by linking working practice to employee ambition, the Nothing letter suggests startups on the quest for growth could be embracing the arguably toxic ‘hustle’ work culture.

“Such a typical CEO attitude”

Pei shared the news about Nothing’s new work policy in an email to staff, which he also posted on LinkedIn. It states that the return to office (RTO) will come into effect in October.

In the email, he gives his reasoning. Remote work negatively affects collaboration, Pei argues, which limits productivity. He adds that the smartphone startup needs to surpass rivals such as Apple, which currently has a three-day a week in-office policy.

The response has been mixed. Some commenters praised the business leader for recognising the importance of in-office work for effective teamwork.

However, many responses were negative. “Such a typical CEO attitude. ‘Being in the office all the time is more productive because I say so, never mind what the team thinks’,” wrote one. “I get the rationale, but why be so adamant and rigid about the policy?” said another. 

Others opined that the move could ostracise Nothing’s existing workforce. “Your best people will leave, but I’m sure you won’t be to blame. You never are,” said one commenter. 

“We need people to go the full mile with us”

Likely, the backlash against Nothing’s RTO policy won’t be confined to social media. Many employers have caused internal outcry by implementing strict RTO mandates. For example when Dell tried to penalise remote work, its staff and management team ignored the rules.

Plenty of other workforces have done the same. In fact, the behaviour has become so common it’s even won itself a trendy moniker; hushed hybrid.

Some businesses are coming down hard on defiers. Manchester United F.C. boss, Sir Jim Ratcliffe offered remote workers a bonus to resign when he rolled out an RTO policy in May. It might be that this high-profile case has inspired Pei.

In his email to staff, the Nothing CEO suggested that employees who could not commit to five days in the office should look for more suitable employment. That’s despite the company operating remotely when it was first founded during the pandemic.

“We know it’s not the right type of setup for everybody, and that’s okay”, reads the email. “We should look for a mutual fit. You should find an environment where you thrive, and we need to find people who want to go the full mile with us in the decades ahead.”

Ironically enough, Carl Pei currently has “we’re hiring” written on his LinkedIn profile. Given the feedback the policy has received so far on the networking platform, it seems unlikely that the RTO mandate will do wonders for Nothing’s recruitment drive.

The hustle never stops

The disconnect between Pei’s positive RTO email and the negative online reaction comes back to company culture. Searching for a recruit who is a “mutual fit” with the organisation makes sense if the business is addressing new joiners. 

However, by switching its approach to flexible and inclusive working practices for the existing workforce, Nothing is trying to rapidly change its culture five years into its growth journey  — something that requires a carefully thought-out approach to get right.

Arguing that remote work makes people less ambitious is also a dangerous polemic to push. Assuming that busyness equals productivity is an example of hustle culture, a toxic attitude to work that encourages long working hours and a relentless drive for growth.

Implementing a stricter hybrid work pattern, where employees work in-office for two or three days a week, might be a better approach in the interim. This would also prevent staff from experiencing whiplash by transitioning too quickly away from flexible work. Plus, it would give Pei a chance to test out his theory that remote work equals lower productivity.

“I’m looking forward to learning, growing, and building the next stage of the company with you all”, Pei’s email concludes. If he wants to scale-up Nothing, he must be careful that the next stage isn’t a disengaged workforce and hiked staff turnover.