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NEW YORK, NY - AUGUST 10: Malcolm Gladwell attends Apple Store Soho presents Malcolm Gladwell "Revisionist History" at Apple Store Soho on August 10, 2016 in New York City. (Photo by John Lamparski/WireImage)
WireImageThe one time I’ve spotted author Malcolm Gladwell in person—outside of a conference stage—he was sitting in front of a laptop at a coffee shop in Durham, N.C. He may have been writing, or working—and if he was, he was doing so remotely.
I immediately thought of that brief celebrity guru sighting when the uproar broke out this week over Gladwell’s comments on a podcast about remote work. If you missed it—or were busy doing other things, like working—Gladwell was interviewed by the podcast Diary Of A CEO, in a lengthy discussion where he talked, among other things, the potential pitfalls of remote work.
“It’s really hard to explain this core psychological truth, which is we want you to have a feeling of belonging and to feel necessary,” he said, adding that it was “not in your best interest to work at home.”
“I know it’s a hassle to come into the office, but if you’re just sitting in your pajamas in your bedroom, is that the work life you want to live?” he said. “Don’t you want to feel part of something?”
I won’t recap the online backlash that ensued—you can read about it here, or here or here. And I won’t suggest there isn’t some merit to some of what he said. (Take a listen at the 1:18 mark here.) We are social creatures. Social ties may help with retention, and early-career relationships can build core people in our network and lifetime friendships. And after two and a half years of this whole remote work experiment, most people recognize that what works for some people doesn’t work for others.
But the reason it sparked such a backlash following a report in the New York Post is because Gladwell is also known for his own habits of working from home. He told The Guardian in 2005 that he “hates desks” and writes his books from sofas, hotels, restaurants and coffee shops. He wrote in the Wall Street Journal in 2010 about all the coffee shops where he’s worked. Many on social media pointed out these disparities—and how his own work style doesn’t line up with the comments he made.
Gladwell was speaking about teams, not his personal work habits, but there’s still a lesson in all this for leaders. A team manager or CEO may not be an author who gets to write New Yorker articles and TED talks in Toronto cafes. But if there’s a chance you might come across as hypocritical in your views about working from home, as some accused Gladwell of being, they’re not going to get a lot of receptivity. If you’re a leader and expect your team to be in the office, you better be there, too. And if your boss wants you back in the office and isn’t there herself, it might be time to look for a place where what’s expected of you is expected at the top, too.
Hope it’s a great week, whether you’re working from the office, the beach, or your own sofa. As always, many thanks to assistant editor Emmy Lucas for her help with this week’s newsletter.
FEATURED STORY
Black Millennials Transform Brunch From Staid Buffets To Fashionable Insta-Worthy Day Parties
When the weekend arrives, it’s time for a break. Forbes’ Jared Council talks to the restaurant owners who are part of the growing trend of Black millennials gathering for “Black brunch,” which includes flashy attire, artwork and music, making the experience and the environment just as important as—if not more than—the meal.
WORK SMARTER
Hustle culture is real. Here’s how it can hurt your career.
You control your success. How to get out of a rut and accelerate your career.
Ten job posting red flags that can signal trouble ahead.
What to say to stand out in an interview that will help you land the job.
Here’s why it’s OK—and good—to admit, “I don’t know.”
ON OUR AGENDA
Ghost quitting: Your unhappy co-workers are mentally checking out. Rather than outright quitting, they’re “ghost quitting.” Why? In today’s inflationary environment, Forbes senior contributor Jack Kelly writes, it may be safer to stay put and quietly bide your time until things turn around. You may recognize these coasters by their tendencies to take a two-hour lunch, their habit of logging on late in the morning and their bare-minimum productivity, doing just enough to not get fired.
Fewer people are moving: The last two and a half years have sparked what many have termed the Great Migration, as remote work allowed them to flee big cities for smaller ones or decamp for less expensive locales. That’s changing this year, as rising interest rates and higher rents cause fewer Americans to move. The number of Americans who changed their addresses in May and June dropped nearly 10% this year, according to a new Pew Research Center report released Monday, Forbes’ Brian Bushard reports.
The latest layoffs: Many major U.S. companies have laid off thousands of workers so far this summer, and Forbes continues to track the latest job cut news in the U.S. This week? Groupon announced plans to lay off 15% of its 500-person workforce. Snap, the California-based developer of Snapchat, began cutting an undisclosed number of staff. And Robinhood laid off a quarter of its staff. Find more here in our tracker.
Mental health and the workplace: Only a third of workers say their company leaders speak openly about well-being and mental health, Mental Health America’s Mind the Workplace report found. Forbes contributor Bryan Robinson spoke with Levi Strauss & Company’s Tracy Layney about how mental health conversations help shape better company culture.
The queen of the court is retiring: What a career. Serena Williams acknowledged Tuesday in an as-told-to cover in Vogue that she would be retiring from tennis. She is set to play in the U.S. Open, which begins August 29, which could cap an extraordinary record that allowed her to become one of America’s richest self-made women: Williams is a 23-time Grand Slam singles champion and has earned $94.6 million in career prize money, more than double the next-best mark, Forbes’ Brett Knight reports. After tennis, she has plenty to keep her busy, from her venture capital firm to board and advisory roles. In her essay, she said she wanted to focus on her family, writing that she and Reddit cofounder Alexis Ohanian, her husband, have been trying to have another child.
BOOK CLUB
With the foreword written by soon-to-be former Meta COO Sheryl Sandberg, Deborah Liu’s new book Take Back Your Power provides 10 “new rules” for women at work. The president and CEO at Ancestry and a former Facebook VP draws on data and personal experiences of leading as a woman in the male-dominated tech industry to share advice on how to best overcome workplace challenges and obstacles.