‘You can’t treat them like…’Spotify HR head on why employees don’t have to work from office,

Spotify

A lot of big tech companies are still divided on their work from office policy. The likes of Apple and Google have flexible options. For instance, Apple requires employees to come three days a week. Google also has a similar policy. Amazon is an exception and has announced that all employees have to work from office, starting January 25. Music streaming platform Spotify doesn’t agree with that policy and prefers to have a WFA or work-from-anywhere policy.

According to a report by Raconteur, Spotify’s HR head wants employees to have the freedom and flexibility. “You can’t spend a lot of time hiring grown-ups and then treat them like children,” says Katarina Berg, Spotify’s chief human resources officer.

Berg said that she can understand if other companies have other policies and want employees to return to office. But said that Spotify doesn’t see any reason why it should be made mandatory. “We are a business that’s been digital from birth, so why shouldn’t we give our people flexibility and freedom?” she said. “Work is not a place you come to, it’s something you do,” she added.

Spotify continues to have physical offices as, according to Berg, some employees like coming to work. The company also has a “core week” where teams are urged to meet up in person. “We know what happens when people sit down and you can actually look each other in the eye. It’s different to being on screen,” Berg said in the interview. “Some people like to come into the office and meet people,” she said.