Satya Nadella not too enthused about permanent WFH; says ‘overcelebrating’ surge in productivity, ‘lack of touch’ can have adverse impact
Nadella spoke candidly about the WFH scenario.
By ET Online | Updated:
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In the no-holds-barred interview, while Nadella acknowledged that the productivity of the Microsoft employees has gone up, he felt it isn’t something to ‘overcelebrate’.
A major chunk of the global workforce is in quarantine. Employees are trying their best to fulfill their professional responsibilities while working from home. Several top bosses, tech moguls and CEOs of tech giants have given their two cents about how the work-from-home scenario might pan out. However, no corporate boss has raised a red flag about remote working quite like Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella has.
In a candid interview with The New York Times, Nadella shared his thoughts on remote working and the rather adverse impact it can have on the psyche of the employees. For starters, the top boss felt that switching from office set-up to work-from-home mode will be ‘replacing one dogma with another dogma’.
Further commenting on the scenario, Nadella posed, “What does burnout look like? What does mental health look like? What does that connectivity and the community building look like? One of the things I feel is, hey, maybe we are burning some of the social capital we built up in this phase where we are all working remote. What’s the measure for that?”
Nadella shared his thoughts on remote working and the rather adverse impact it can have on the psyche of the employees. In the no-holds-barred interview, while Nadella acknowledged that the productivity of the Microsoft employees has gone up it isn’t something to ‘overcelebrate’. The Microsoft top boss feels that the increase in productivity comes at the price of burning the social capital.
Nadella also touched upon the ‘lack of touch’, one experiences when they are working remotely. The 52-year-old tech mogul said that he misses walking into a physical meeting, which gives one a chance to connect with the person next to him ‘for the two minutes before and after.’
‘That’s tough to replicate virtually, as are other soft skills crucial to managing and mentoring,” added Nadella.
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The Indian-American business executive also spoke at length about how offices are likely to cope with the pandemic. He feels that this would happen in three phases, The first phase will be responding to the immediate impact with office closures and cost cuts.
The second phase, which Nadella calls the ‘recovery’ phase, which in his opinion is already underway at some workplaces is all about ‘dial’ and ‘switch’. “There will be lots of movement of the dial, back and forth,” said Nadella.
In the third phase, called the ‘reimagining phase’, innovations born of necessity during the previous two phases will emerge.
Bezos's $260 Trunks, Lanvin Sneakers For Nadella, Pichai: Billionaire Bosses & Their Style Statement
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Take some styling tips from Jeff Bezos, from left, Sundar Pichai and Satya Nadella.
Take some styling tips from Jeff Bezos, from left, Sundar Pichai and Satya Nadella.
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Jeff Bezos’s transformation hasn’t gone unnoticed. But what has been making news recently is his dressing style when he steps out with girlfriend Lauren Sanchez. The most popular has been a pair of s..
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Most recently, he sported the Earth Runner sandals at the Square Crypto inaugural off-site. Starting at $69, the sandals are said to combine the barefoot benefits of earthing shoes (shoes that offer the primal experience of living grounded to the earth) with the functionality of minimalist running sandals.
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Unlike the rest of Silicon Valley, Instagram co-founder Kevin Systrom’s wardrobe eschews the typical hoodie. The tech entrepreneur is more comfortable in sports coats and ties. “I’m probably the only guy in Silicon Valley who enjoys wearing a jacket or a tie and does it unironically,” he has said earlier.
“My jacket of choice is a Boglioli unstructured jacket. It almost looks like a sweater. I can wear it to anything in Silicon Valley and I don’t look like a stiff or a banker.”
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(Image: Instagram/Kevin Systrom)
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If there’s one item that Silicon Valley CEOs can agree on, it’s Lanvin sneakers. The Parisian high-fashion house makes chunky, low-top sneakers that are favoured by tech bosses like Satya Nadella (L), Sundar Pichai (R) and Larry Page (C). Systrom also once said he prefers the high-fashion Parisian brand because they are easy to pair.
If there’s one item that Silicon Valley CEOs can agree on, it’s Lanvin sneakers. The Parisian high-fashion house makes chunky, low-top sneakers that are favoured by tech bosses like Satya Nadella (L)..
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