this post was submitted on 24 Oct 2023
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Steve Schwarzman of the Blackstone group said staff want to work from home so they can save money

The boss of the world’s biggest commercial landlord has accused remote workers of staying away from the office because it means they “don’t work as hard” and can save money.

Steve Schwarzman, the chief executive of investment firm the Blackstone group, made the claims about hybrid staff while speaking on a panel at the Future Investment Initiative summit in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

In remarks first reported by Bloomberg, he said employees had kept working from home because “they didn’t work as hard, regardless of what they tell you” and also due to the savings they make on their daily commute, lunches and work attire.

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[–] [email protected] 286 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Says WFH is terrible

Is biggest commerical landlord

Yup, definitely totally unbiased opinion im sure lmfaooo

[–] [email protected] 56 points 1 year ago (3 children)

Not only unbiased, but completely relatable and down to earth. I’m sure he lives just like the rest of us.

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[–] [email protected] 172 points 1 year ago (6 children)

Let's assume for the sake of argument he's correct. So fucking what? Wealth concentration is wage theft. Profits are at historic highs. They owe it to the workers to put down the fucking whip. It's better for the environment. Every worker who wants to telecommute (in jobs where it's possible) should be allowed to do so. It's unethical not to. It should be made illegal, IMO.

[–] [email protected] 44 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (2 children)

Oh, well, we’ve been over producing by taking in extra tasks and not getting raises for many years with extra work while in the office. I guess this is just our reciprocity and evening out our personal time.

I wonder if I sent him a pizza, would he feel better about it all?

Oh. And you expect me to be in the office? Then you should make an appearance daily in the office. I don’t care if you’re halfway across the US - you better show up to say hi and prove you’re there you fucking slacker.

[–] [email protected] 25 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (1 children)

Oh. And you expect me to be in the office? Then you should make an appearance daily in the office. I don’t care if you’re halfway across the US - you better show up to say hi and prove you’re there you fucking slacker.

This is the biggest reason people don't respect the Return to Office mandate of some companies. If the C-suite jabronis can't be arsed to show up and it's okay for them to telecommute, they've given away the game. It's rules-for-thee-not-for-me and it's as simple as that. Treating adults well into their professional careers like children who must be watched endlessly is a slap in the face to these professionals. It's why more often than not they're just finding a different job that does respect them.

This is such short-term thinking. They're going to lose their most productive and most valuable employees to this, and then their business will slowly fold like a flan in a cupboard.

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[–] [email protected] 16 points 1 year ago

Raises beer!

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[–] oroboros 112 points 1 year ago (3 children)

There are no metics to support any drop in productivity. There are lots of metrics to support making people go back to the office is bad for the environment. The traffic were I live is pretty much back to what it was before. It's gross just watching the haze of fumes knowing it is there so these dickheads can maintain their property portfolio.

[–] [email protected] 43 points 1 year ago

Anecdotally, I clock more hours WFH than I ever did going into the office- the matter of having to catch the last train out of town put a hard limit on how long I could crank code.

Without those extra 4 uncompensated hours in my day (plus the overhead time and mental energy monitoring the timeline of my day vs. just doing what I do), I get more done and I have more time to do it. Being autistic, I appreciate having uninterrupted time-blocks I can use to hyperfocus and get things done- and having to be aware of when to tie things up and GTFO in time to catch that train interrupts that.

Schwarzman isn't really concerned with my well-being or with my productivity at work- he's concerned with maintaining high demand for commercial real estate like my company's office. He can pound sand.

I still go in every once in a while just to show my face and get some IRL time with co-workers, but my employers aren't pushing the 'get back to work and do real work' line, they're aware that working in the office (we're mostly coders and such) will cost us productivity if anything and they're just encouraging us to get in a few times a year and do some face to face social stuff.

[–] Kecessa 26 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (1 children)

I work a job where our metrics are extremely easy to analyse, since switching to 100% remote work instead of 60% max at will remote work our productivity has increased by 15%... How much are companies willing to spend to increase productivity by 15%? Imagine being able to get that boost by saving money instead!

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[–] [email protected] 18 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Yeah, but notice that his whole point was about "working hard" which is not at all the same as "being productive" and about employees "saving money", which something that's not up to an employer to decide on.

It's not at all about the kind of metrics a competent manager would be worrying about.

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[–] [email protected] 109 points 1 year ago (7 children)

I'm not saying violence is the answer, but I do believe he deserves to be strapped into a machine that just slaps him in the face constantly

[–] [email protected] 42 points 1 year ago (6 children)

I dunno, historically speaking, violence has often been the answer.

Maybe it wasn't always the best answer, but it certainly is effective. Just ask the French!

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[–] [email protected] 39 points 1 year ago (4 children)

I feel productivity rising already and am behind this initiative.

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[–] [email protected] 99 points 1 year ago

Ah, yes, a man with a vested interest in seeing offices full to capacity can clearly be trusted to tell the truth here.

[–] [email protected] 66 points 1 year ago (2 children)

Commercial landlord. LOL, like this douchebag has a clue what he is talking about.

Translation: These remote workers are costing me money!!!!!

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[–] [email protected] 62 points 1 year ago

Someone is confusing hard work with productivity. Fucking dinosaur.

[–] [email protected] 58 points 1 year ago (6 children)

Even if we accept the premise that remote workers "don't work as hard," so what? They're either fulfilling their job responsibilities or they're not.

[–] [email protected] 25 points 1 year ago (2 children)

I mean, it's true? I used to have to spend 11 hours a day to get 8 hours in my workplace. Now I spend 8 hours a day to get 8 hours in my workplace. And I start earlier and finish later because I can take longer breaks during the day when no one needs me to be there. And I get more done because I'm not knackered all the time from commuting 3 hours a day.

They're quids in (unless they've based their finances on the capital gains from owning property in a ridiculously expensive city while shunting the costs onto lower paid workers who are forced to commute long hours at their own expense).

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[–] [email protected] 55 points 1 year ago

he said employees had kept working from home because “they didn’t work as hard, regardless of what they tell you” and also due to the savings they make on their daily commute, lunches and work attire.

It’s almost as if people enjoy having extra disposable income!

[–] [email protected] 51 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Get this asshole a submarine too

[–] [email protected] 17 points 1 year ago (1 children)
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[–] [email protected] 50 points 1 year ago (2 children)

How dare the common staff attempt to save money?!

That is not their lot in life! They ought to be thankful for the pittance they receive as it is, and they are entirely ungrateful wretches to think of saving and trying to improve their situation!

Entirely ungrateful!!

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[–] [email protected] 46 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Really just needs to be common practice or law to pay workers to commute.

[–] [email protected] 34 points 1 year ago

I've said it before and I'll keep saying it, one of the fastest ways to pull cars off the road is to pass strong incentives/taxes on businesses to encourage them to adopt a hybrid or remote work model. I live in a rural area where you frequently need to drive to the next town over for this that or the other thing and my hybrid work schedule has allowed my family to become a single car family in about the most eternally car dependant kind of living situation there is

[–] [email protected] 45 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

"It's very important to me that you head into a large and expensive to rent office. Don't ask me why."

[–] [email protected] 43 points 1 year ago

We should remove these people from all levels of power. They are not fit to be in charge of anything, ever.

[–] [email protected] 41 points 1 year ago

Obviously, the dude owns commercial real estate. Of course he's talking shit about people that don't want to go to the office.

I'm never going back to an office. Started my own business and never looking back. Information workers don't need offices, period.

Dude probably can't wait to replace his own office staff with AI. Tell him to eat shit.

[–] [email protected] 37 points 1 year ago

Remote workers can live in locations with cheaper rent. Blackstone has invested far too much money buying up overpriced housing in densely populated areas to allow that. A spread out population is bad for their bottom line.

[–] [email protected] 37 points 1 year ago

Such bullshit.

These old fux just want to control people.

[–] [email protected] 37 points 1 year ago (2 children)

You know who really doesn't work hard? Shareholders. Why the fuck do they get preferential treatment over the people actually doing the work?

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[–] [email protected] 35 points 1 year ago

The irony of the hedge fund boss that owns the world's largest corpo land lord complaining about WFH employees not doing real work

[–] [email protected] 35 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (2 children)

He’s essentially saying that companies need employees to come work at the office because the real estate investors depend on it.

Question what do the models say will happen if commercial real estate values crash because everyone is wfm? Can it really cause an macro economic issue?

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[–] [email protected] 34 points 1 year ago

Headline in a reality literate world: "Remote employees 'don't work as hard' says obscenely biased and out of touch person with a vested interest in the abolishment of remote work."

[–] [email protected] 30 points 1 year ago (10 children)

The evidence says otherwise. He can go fuck himself. I personally prefer going in but I understand people wanting to work from home or at the very least do hybrid work. Childcare is fucking expensive and if you can work while watching kids, that can really help combat the massive rise in housing costs.

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[–] [email protected] 29 points 1 year ago

I can't wait to see these billionaires dragged out of their bunkers and eaten.

[–] [email protected] 29 points 1 year ago

Oh shit! And does the CEO of Tyson think vegetarians are malnourished?

[–] [email protected] 27 points 1 year ago

You know who actually doesn't work hard at all? steve schwarzan. Fuck these lazy ass execs and share holders. I think we outta put em all in metal tubes and drop em in the ocean.

[–] [email protected] 26 points 1 year ago

Well he can go fuck himself.

[–] [email protected] 24 points 1 year ago (5 children)

I actually work harder (in general) than before because now I don't have to commute, 1-2 hours more a day I can spend getting stuff done

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[–] [email protected] 24 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (1 children)

Maybe because most office work is meritless horseshit???

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[–] [email protected] 22 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Working smarter, not harder.

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[–] [email protected] 20 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Probably doesn't like WFH because people can clock off when their task is done and he can't ask them to work unpaid overtime.

[–] [email protected] 23 points 1 year ago

Probably part of it, but being a commercial landlord is probably bigger. WFH is reducing the need for offices and thus hurting his property values.

[–] [email protected] 20 points 1 year ago (1 children)

I don't know... I feel like I need some sort of perk if I'm going back to work. How about a pizza party or some Alf pogs?

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[–] CancerMancer 19 points 1 year ago (5 children)

Business saves money: "the goal of a business is to make money"

Employee saves money: "you just don't want to pay all the robber barons all the way in and out of work you lazy piece of shit"

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[–] [email protected] 19 points 1 year ago

I mean, at work I'm probably just going to play Pokemon on my phone until an actual assignment shows up, then do it and back to Pokemon.

If I worked from home I can't imagine I would do my job any differently, except it would probably be playing Pokémon Violet on the switch instead of Pokemon Masters on my phone

[–] [email protected] 18 points 1 year ago

Steve Schwarzman of the Blackstone group can fuck all the way off.

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