Narayan AmmachchiRemote work may appear to be comfortable and convenient, but it is detrimental to employees’ professional development, IBM CEO Arvind Krishna warned.
“In the short term, you can probably be just as productive, but your career suffers,” Krishna told Bloomberg in an interview.
Remote employment is appropriate for software developers and customer support agents, but not for marketing-style administrative personnel, IBM’s CEO added.
Analysts have long said that remote work is beneficial for experienced professionals who operate in remote regions but is dangerous for young and inexperienced workers who have recently graduated.
A month ago, some analysts even cautioned that remote working might gradually push American corporations to outsource many of their key functions, such as research and development, to foreign countries.
Krishna made no mention of outsourcing, limiting his comments to the negative impact of remote work on managerial staff.
Analysts say that on-site employees devote around 25% of their working time to professional development, since they may gain job skills by observing their colleagues.
Recent studies confirm that around 30% of Americans are working remotely even though the fear of COVID-19 is long over.
As part of their mixed work environment, over 80% of IBM employees work remotely at least three days of the week. Furthermore, due to the widespread reliance of remote operations, the company’s hybrid cloud computing software is selling briskly.
“I’m not saying every IBM employee needs to work remotely, but let them know that working remotely isn’t good for their future,” Krishna added.
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