I posted a video on LinkedIn last week and it kind of blew up! The video is actually an audio recording of Jp Morgan Chase’s CEO Jamie Dimon sharing some of his feelings about the current state of work and, more specifically, Remote Work!
Check it out:
Is he wrong? Let’s break it down:
- Video meetings vs. in-person – has opened up this behind-the-meeting conversation path – where during the meeting, many people are having conversations with others at the same meeting – not paying attention, making comments, etc., that wouldn’t happen in an in-person meeting. So, he’s not lying.
- Let’s say the meeting is important – being on your laptop and/or phone, isn’t helpful. BUT TIM, WE’RE JUST TAKING NOTES! No, you’re not. You’re multi-tasking, and it can be rude and distractful. If the meeting isn’t valuable, don’t have it! But we’ve made a determination that no meeting is valuable, so I’m going to do what “I” think is valuable at this meeting.
- Work from home Friday. This was what a lot of people on LinkedIn focused on. Work from Home (WFH) is a problem for most people. There is a small percentage of the population that actually works better at home. HR pros and leaders who want to work at home keep telling executives that it’s more productive when the business measures show it’s not for most people, especially younger, inexperienced workers. So, now HR is losing credibility.
- Younger workers are being damaged by this and being left behind. This is 100% accurate and true! We are doing a disservice to the careers and social constructs of younger workers. We are creating a generation of people who believe responding to email is actually working.
- Every area should be trying to be more efficient. Most “leaders” in today’s world don’t think this way. They actually think the opposite. If you had 100 people under you, you don’t want less, you want more! That makes you more important. It’s better to have 100 direct reports than 90. In a world of AI, this mentality is broken.
- You have a choice; you don’t have to work at his company. This is actually brilliant recruiting. Amazon does something similar. They want you to self-select out. We are going to be very successful, but we are going to have expectations. If you don’t like our expectations, please don’t work here!
- We didn’t build a great company by doing the “same semi-diseased shit” as everyone else! That phrase is amazing and accurate. If you’re following the crowd, you’re not going to be successful.
For the most part, people hated this video/audio of Dimon. I get it. It’s abrasive. It sounds like an old guy executive complaining that back in his day…but when you break down each part, he’s not wrong.
HR has a problem on its hands, and for the most part, it is of their creation.
We have to change the narrative very quickly for our executives and our culture. No longer is it about WFH. It’s now about WFWYAMMP (Work from where you are measurably most productive)! HR is going to help you be the most successful professional you can be, by helping you find where you are measurably most productive. Not where you “feel” most productive, but where we actually see the data shows us where you work best!