‘Sitting on sofa…’: What ex-Google CEO said about work-from-home

Former Google CEO Eric Schmidt said it is tougher to have professional conversations virtually.

Google’s staff has returned to working from office, at least part time, and according to the tech giant’s former Chief Executive Officer Eric Schmidt, a traditionalist, in-person work mode is more effective, CNBC has reported.

Schmidt, who helped Google grow into a tech giant, attributed most of the company’s success to work-from-office.

“We spent decades having these conversations about people being close together ... the discussion at the coffee table and going to coffee,” Schmidt told the news channel. “Remember all of that? Was that all wrong?”

The former Google executive pointed out that professional conversations are easier in-person and especially important in places with young employees.

Schmidt said that during his initial days at Google, the company had many students who treated the workplace as college

“And I used to say to them, ‘This is not college. This is a professional thing, you can’t do that. And, or, it might be illegal. So please stop, now.’”

Schmidt told CNBC that working from office was an opportunity for young professionals to develop management skills

“In terms of their age, that’s when they learn,” the executive added. “If you miss out (on that) because you are sitting at home on the sofa while you’re working, I don’t know how you build great management. I honestly don’t.”

Companies around the world shuttered their offices after the coronavirus pandemic struck and eventually peaked.

Now the situation has improved and many have partially returned to in-person work.

Google is making all-out efforts to make return to offices a good experience for employees. The company is organising concerts and pop-up events for them, according to a New York Times report.