After the worst of the pandemic has passed and many companies forcing their employees to be fully in person, as in the case of Apple, it is interesting to know what Steve Jobs thought about teleworking.
Both for better and for worse, the pandemic has revolutionized the way in which employees and, above all, companies conceive of work in 2023, forcing teleworking by many and as another evolution by others.
While many big tech companies have implemented remote work during the most critical moments of this tragic moment, Apple, famous for its focus on physical offices, has taken a different tack and with the worst of the pandemic over, is forcing its employees back to the offices.
As expected, this has raised blisters among a large part of the squad, so in these cases it is always interesting to ask What would Steve Jobs have thought or how would he have approached this problem?
Taking into account the existence of thousands of interviews and texts of his, it is easy to draw a conclusion about his position on teleworking.
Steve Jobs: faithful defender of face-to-face, although with nuances
According to comments from New York Times And to the sadness of many, it could be said that Steve Jobs was not a special defender of working from home. He argued that creativity flourished in spontaneous encounters and informal conversations that could only arise in an office environment.
“Creativity comes from spontaneous meetings, from random discussions. You meet someone, ask them what they’re doing, say ‘Wow,’ and soon you’re cooking up all kinds of ideas”he commented.
However, be careful because Jobs’ views on teleworking were not limited to this idea alone. In an interview in 1990, he spoke about the need to adapt organizational structures to changing business conditions.
I saw the possibility of create highly efficient work groups, regardless of geographic location or hierarchy, through the use of technology and electronic networkswhich in a few words today is known as teleworking.
As you can see, Steve Jobs’ vision of teleworking is quite complex and full of various nuances. On the one hand, he valued face-to-face interaction for creative stimulation, while on the other, he sensed the potential of technology to foster remote collaboration and rapid organizational adaptation.
Although his current opinion cannot be known, it is undeniable that his legacy in the creation of technologies have helped shape the situation of teleworking today.