CEOs are running companies from afar even as workers return to office
CEOs of major companies are increasingly running operations from afar or commuting by private jet, even as they mandate return-to-office policies for rank-and-file employees. Commenters highlight perceptions of “rules for thee, not for me,” class asymmetry in perks and location freedom, and how executive travel, offsites, and loose schedules contrast with tightly controlled office expectations for regular staff. The exchange also broadens into whether CEO work is under‑ or overvalued, how remote work affects performance and culture, and what leverage workers realistically have to push back.
Perceived Double Standards
- Many see CEOs and upper management as exempt from RTO mandates, location-based pay cuts, and commuting burdens, while rank‑and‑file workers are forced back to offices.
- Exec travel (offsites, frequent flying, “Europe offices” with minimal real presence) is described as longstanding, not new.
- Several anecdotes: partners and CEOs remain remote while ordering everyone else back; one COO complains layoffs ruined his expensed family vacation.
- This is framed as “rules for thee, not for me” and as evidence of class hierarchy inside firms.
Exec Presence and Location
- Some report that in smaller companies (<200 employees), executives tend to be local and physically present, sometimes more than staff.
- Others note big‑company CEOs often live elsewhere, commute by corporate jet, or even relocate the HQ near their home.
- Some argue CEOs should at least share the city and physical culture of HQ, especially if they claim to “care” about the company.
CEO Workload and Value
- One camp claims many CEOs make a few key decisions, spend time on client dinners and golf, and enjoy outsized perks and pay.
- A strong counter‑camp insists this caricature is false: CEOs and senior execs are said to work extremely long hours, face constant stress, be “on call” continuously, and handle unpleasant, high‑stakes decisions (layoffs, crises, lawsuits).
- There is broad agreement that CEO pay multiples (e.g., ~40x workers) are hard to justify, even if the job is stressful.
Remote Work, RTO, and Productivity
- Some say RTO is about hierarchy, visibility, and executive loneliness rather than business need.
- Others argue junior staff benefit from in‑person mentoring and serendipitous overheard conversations that don’t translate well to Slack/Zoom.
- Several note that remote can work very well with good async communication; others report productivity drops when conversations move to private chats.
- A side thread debates whether leadership’s inability to diagnose missed deadlines remotely reveals poor management rather than a flaw in WFH itself.
Power, Inequality, and Worker Responses
- Commenters highlight structural inequality: executives can ignore pay bands, expense travel, and shape rules; workers mostly “take it or leave it.”
- Proposed responses include unions, co‑ops, broader employee ownership, and simply avoiding such employers—though economic conditions and the tech downturn limit that leverage.
- Some jurisdictions (e.g., the Netherlands) are cited as giving workers legal rights to WFH where reasonable, with claimed benefits for traffic, stress, and emissions.