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Company Culture Elon Musk relented in his efforts to force Twitter employees to work 40-hour weeks in the office, and is now allowing remote work

Elon Musk relented in his efforts to force Twitter employees to work 40-hour weeks in the office, and is now allowing remote work (Photo by Lokman Vural Elibol/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)

By Savannah Young Leaders Staff

Savannah Young

News Writer

Savannah Young is a news writer for Leaders Media. Previously, she was a digital reporter for WATE Channel 6 (ABC)...

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Nov 21, 2022

Musk’s Reversal of Employment Practice

Elon Musk relented in his efforts to force Twitter employees to work 40-hour weeks in the office, and is now allowing remote work.

Key Details

  • In the first week of Elon Musk’s Twitter takeover he was adamant about not letting employees work from home.
  • After Musk’s announcement of sending workers back to the office full-time, Twitter employees began to leave in droves causing Musk to soften his outlook and allow for a flexible work schedule.
  • Many other businesses have had to open up to the thought of remote work as employees began leaving and Musk is the newest one added to the list.

Why it’s news

During the pandemic a large number of businesses had to close offices and switch to working remotely in order to keep employees safe.

Many workers found that they were able to be just as productive remotely and have since opted to work from home instead of returning to office.

Some employers agreed and have since allowed workers to continue working from home, while others demanded workers get back to the office as soon as the pandemic subsided. 

Many of the employers who forced workers to go back to the office had a rude awakening when employees decided to quit instead of returning to the office and that includes Elon Musk.

Musk has voiced his dislike for remote work many times saying that he has even stayed overnight to work before and employees should be willing to work that hard too. In the early days of his Twitter acquisition he reversed the company’s work from home policy and ordered workers back to the office.

He learned real quick how big of a mistake that was. He sent a mass email to all employees stating that they could choose to work hard or leave thinking that most employees would stick by him and the email had the opposite effect.

Many of the company’s employees decided to leave the company entirely, causing Musk to retreat on his decision rather quickly. 
He sent a follow up email saying employees could work remotely and “All that is required for approval is that your manager takes responsibility for ensuring that you are making an excellent contribution.”

Others opting for remote work

Elon Musk and Twitter isn’t the only company changing its policy to allow employees to work from home. 

Apple and General Motors both had to change their policies to allow employees to work remotely after receiving backlash. 

When Apple made workers return to the office the company lost one of its top machine-learning experts who left to work for competitor Alphabet in order to have a better work schedule. 

“Equating excellent work with working early mornings, late evenings, and weekends reveals a belief that the only way to be an excellent employee is to devote one’s entire life to the company,” says business professor Jason Schloetzer. “And it’s become apparent that an increasing proportion of the workforce is becoming comfortable with pushing back.”

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