Lord Alan Sugar hates remote working so much that he calls the BBC remotely to complain about it.
The British billionaire has gone viral on TikTok for espousing his anti-remote work views from the comfort of a remote office, but employment experts agree with much of what he says.
“You don’t learn by staying at home in your pajamas”, the entrepreneur and host of UK’s The apprentice She said. The interview, conducted last week, was part of Sugar’s press tour following the 18th season premiere of The apprentice. “I’m totally against it, frankly. I think it’s bad for morale, bad for learning. I know that I learn by being with other people in an office.
While Sugar has taken a more incendiary stance than most, his views are certainly not unpopular, especially among older, more established businessmen.
Citadel CEO Ken Griffin said not working in person is a “serious mistake” and could make it easier for your boss to fire you, as they are unlikely to know you personally. Goldman Sachs CEO David Solomon called remote working an “aberration,” and JPMorgan Chase’s Jamie Dimon said remote workers at his bank should probably work elsewhere, while Tesla’s Elon Musk made a further I go one step further by saying that remote employees are simply pretending to work.
But there is some merit to the argument that in-person work can be critical for early-career workers. (Even some angry TikTok commenters got it.) Many tasks are best learned when you’re side-by-side with your manager, and a good number of workers can admit that they’re often more productive when they’re at work. office. The pros and cons of both sides mean that an employee-led hybrid arrangement is often the best move, which is why rigid return-to-office mandates, with no room for flexibility, are so openly despised.
“It’s a little more nuanced than that.”
Despite the anger these pro-office comments fueled, at least they had the good sense to make their demands from their offices. Predictably, criticism of Sugar and accusations of hypocrisy came almost instantly. “At the launch of his programme, funded by BBC taxpayers,[Sugar] I wouldn’t have the courage to be there in person”, a Twitter user/X, a British journalist, he noted. A Sugar representative, Andrew Bloch, He answered that Sugar answered the call remotely because he was “out of the country.”
Journalist Harry Wallop countered that despite everything, Sugar “can’t on the one hand say remote work or remote work is terrible for the economy and at the same time embrace the freedom and flexibility it gives him ( and all the others) to work. from a different country/time zone.”
“It’s a little more nuanced than that,” Bloch responded. “but I see your point.”
Similar responses came quickly when the BBC posted a 20-second clip of the interview last week on TikTok. “From a person who owns many unnecessary offices in London… no bias here, Alan?” one user wrote. Another said: “Well, if he’s a real capitalist, he can set these terms for his employees and see what talent they attract.”
Sugar has regularly pushed back against the shift to remote work, arguing that it worsens performance and hurts business results. In 2022, the billionaire said that those who work from home should be paid less, because they would supposedly save on commuting costs. (He was also roundly criticized for that shot.)
Bloch did not respond immediately Of luck request for comment.