Starbucks CEO begged employees to return to office: 'I said I'll get on my knees'

Howard Schultz has returned to Starbucks after six years of retirement.

Starbucks Chief Executive Officer Howard Schultz, like many other top executives, prefers working from office. At a New York Times event on Thursday, he described himself as an “old-school person” in a different generation.

Schultz said at the NYT DealBook policy forum in Washington that he had begged his employees to return to office too. “I said I’ll get on my knees,” the Starbucks boss said. “I’ll do push-ups. Whatever you want. Come back.”

Despite the efforts, Schultz says he has been unsuccessful. “No, they are not coming back at the level I want them to,” he added. “I think people will come back two to three days a week and that’s the way — that’s the way it is.”

Schultz said he is in his office from 7 am to 7 pm. "I’m trying to make an example," he said at the forum. "The thing that I am evaluating is, what’s the level of productivity? And you know, it appears that people are working at home."

Schultz has returned to Starbucks after six years of retirement, at a time when a unionisation effort is picking up pace.

Starbucks allows some workers to have a hybrid work schedule. This depends on their roles. "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'," the company said.

Like Starbucks, other organisations are also trying to get workers back to offices. Some are issuing ultimatums.

Tesla CEO Elon Musk had told his employees in May that they must be present in office 40 hours per week or leave the company.

The mandate drew criticism from bosses who favour flexibility at work. One said Musk ignored that working remotely had improved people's quality of life and productivity.

Others warned that return-to-office mandates could lead to organisations losing talented employees looking for flexibility in work.