Despite doing "everything" to get employees to return to the office,
Starbucks' CEO said, they're not returning "at the level" he wants.
Speaking at The New York Times' DealBook policy forum in Washington, DC, on Thursday, Howard Schultz — who
returned as interim CEO in April after Kevin Johnson stepped down from the role — said swaying staffers away from remote work and back to the office hasn't been productive.
"I have been unsuccessful, despite everything I've tried to do, to get our people back to work," Schultz, 69, said. "I've pleaded with them. I said I'll get on my knees. I'll do push-ups. Whatever you want. Come back."
He continued: "No, they are not coming back at the level I want them to. And, you know, we're a very collaborative, creative group. I realize I'm an old-school person, and this is a different generation."
Despite his frustration, Schultz has not mandated that corporate employees return to the office. Instead, the company has offered "flexible options for eligible, non-retail roles" in the form of hybrid and remote positions, Starbucks'
website said.
"Hybrid workplace options depend on the individual role and are identified in our job postings," the website said. "Roles that do not have to be based in a specific location are labeled as 'remote' while roles that can be fulfilled in multiple locations, such as a combination of home and office, are indicated as 'hybrid.'"
A representative for Starbucks said the company didn't have further comment on Schultz's statements or the company's remote work policies.
Schultz's hesitancy to demand full-time office work runs counter to recent efforts among other executives, including Elon Musk, who told staffers to return to the office or resign,
reports say. Musk, Tesla's CEO, has been openly critical or remote work,
tweeting that employees who are against working in the office "should pretend to work somewhere else."
Schultz appeared to acquiesce to the idea of hybrid and remote work options and said at the DealBook event that though he personally went into the office at 7 a.m. and left at 7 p.m. regularly, flexible workplaces are now "the way it is."
"I think people will come back two to three days a week, and that's the way — that's the way it is," he said. "But the thing that I am evaluating is, what's the level of productivity? And, you know, it appears that people are working at home."
