Elon Musk, Vivek Ramaswamy call remote work a 'Covid-era privilege.' It's here to stay, economists say
When Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy laid out their vision for slashing the size of the federal government, they touted plans to bring workers back to the office full-time.
Working from home was a "Covid-era privilege," the duo, appointed by President-elect Donald Trump to lead a new Department of Government Efficiency, wrote in a Nov. 20 Wall Street Journal op-ed.
"Working from home is here to stay," said Nick Bloom, an economics professor at Stanford University who studies workplace management practices.
In September, Amazon CEO Andy Jassy announced a full-time in-office policy for corporate staffers starting in 2025, for example. The Washington Post recently announced a similar policy. UPS, Boeing and JPMorgan Chase have called some employees back to the office five days a week.
Others have cut the number of remote workdays as part of a "hybrid" arrangement, where employees split time in and out of office. Disney, for example, required four days a week of in-office work starting in 2023.
