Zoom CEO Says In-Person Work Essential for Innovation and Team Bonding

An anonymous reader shares a report: Zoom CEO Eric Yuan told employees this month that the company was making the surprising decision to send some workers back to the office regularly because its flagship remote-work product didn't allow employees to build as much trust or be as innovative as in the office, according to a leaked meeting recording viewed by Insider. Zoom, one of the main enablers and beneficiaries of remote work, told employees living within 50 miles of a Zoom office that they must work there at least two days a week. The top reason for the mandate, Yuan said at the August 3 meeting, is that it's difficult for employees to get to know each other and build trust remotely. "In our early days, we all knew each other," Yuan said. "Over the past several years, we've hired so many new 'Zoomies' that it's really hard to build trust." He added: "Trust is a foundation for everything. Without trust, we will be slow." The second reason, he said, is that Zoom doesn't enable employees to have the conversations and debates that lead to innovation. "Quite often, you come up with great ideas, but when we are all on Zoom, it's really hard," Yuan said. "We cannot have a great conversation. We cannot debate each other well because everyone tends to be very friendly when you join a Zoom call."

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