arstechnica.com Open in urlscan Pro
3.136.132.220  Public Scan

Form analysis
1 forms found in the DOM

GET /search/

<form action="/search/" method="GET" id="search_form">
  <input type="hidden" name="ie" value="UTF-8">
  <input type="text" name="q" id="hdr_search_input" value="" aria-label="Search..." placeholder="Search...">
</form>

Text Content

Skip to main content
 * Biz & IT
 * Tech
 * Science
 * Policy
 * Cars
 * Gaming & Culture
 * Store
 * Forums

Subscribe

Close


NAVIGATE

 * Store
 * Subscribe
 * Videos
 * Features
 * Reviews

 * RSS Feeds
 * Mobile Site

 * About Ars
 * Staff Directory
 * Contact Us

 * Advertise with Ars
 * Reprints


FILTER BY TOPIC

 * Biz & IT
 * Tech
 * Science
 * Policy
 * Cars
 * Gaming & Culture
 * Store
 * Forums


SETTINGS

Front page layout


Grid


List


Site theme

light

dark

Sign in

NOT A REMOTE POSSIBILITY —


ZOOM HAS “ZOOM FATIGUE,” REQUIRES WORKERS TO RETURN TO THE OFFICE


ZOOM SURPRISINGLY DECIDES ITS TEAMS ARE MORE EFFECTIVE WORKING IN-OFFICE.

Ashley Belanger - 8/7/2023, 10:40 PM

Enlarge
Morsa Images | DigitalVision

READER COMMENTS

306 with

A video-conferencing company might be the last business anyone would expect to
force employees to return to the office. That's why a series of shocked reports
followed Zoom's announcement that any employees living "within 50 miles of a
Zoom office" must now work in the office "at least two days a week."

Starting this month and continuing through September, Zoom's decision to bring
employees back to offices could impact many of the company's 7,400 employees,
The New York Times reported.

In a statement, a Zoom spokesperson said that the company believes "a structured
hybrid approach" is "most effective for Zoom" because it provides an opportunity
for workers "to interact with their teams."

Seemingly, Zoom is contradicting its own brand statements, which promise that
Zoom facilitates "immersive in-office collaboration right from home." Zoom's
homepage describes the service as providing one platform that helps teams become
"more connected, more collaborative, more intelligent" and "do more."

Zoom's latest move back to the office follows a previous effort last year that
established the hybrid "workstyle" and required that less than 2 percent of its
workforce return to the office full time, MarketWatch reported. At that time,
Zoom chief financial officer Kelly Steckelberg cited an internal survey showing
that about 85 percent of employees who work remotely "want it to stay that way."

Given a choice between fully remote, hybrid, or in-person work styles,
approximately half of employees surveyed last year said that they'd choose a
hybrid work style, though.

An anonymous Zoom employee told The Times that after the company's most recent
announcement, several employees expressed frustration over wasting time
commuting, directly complaining to Zoom Chief Executive Eric Yuan during a
company meeting.

It's still unclear why Zoom settled on a 50-mile radius as its requirement for
returning to the office, whether employees can seek exemptions, or if
performance reviews will depend on in-office attendance, ComputerWorld reported.

Advertisement


Zoom declined Ars' request to comment further.


RETURN-TO-OFFICE COMES AMID ZOOM’S PIVOT TO AI

Through the pandemic, Zoom became a popular choice for many workers as COVID-19
made in-office work impossible for many. But Business Insider reported that
market value has since dropped by at least $100 billion, mostly because so many
companies over the past two years began requiring workers to return to the
office.

Now Zoom is seemingly aligning its own thinking with businesses that can't seem
to let go of office culture. Zoom's spokesperson said that with more workers in
the office, "as a company, we are in a better position to use our own
technologies, continue to innovate, and support our global customers."

Of course, Zoom promotes its video-conferencing tool as an asset for both
in-office and remote work. Zoom's spokesperson said that Zoom itself will
continue using its products to connect employees with different work styles.

"We'll continue to leverage the entire Zoom platform to keep our employees and
dispersed teams connected and working efficiently," Zoom's spokesperson said.

It's possible that Zoom's pivot to AI is forcing the return to the office. Yuan
said on an earnings call that building up Zoom's AI capability is a priority,
ComputerWorld reported, and it's possible it has become an all-hands-on-deck
situation.

Back in February, as Zoom's AI research and development expenses exploded, Zoom
laid off approximately 1,300 workers. These workers were hired to "staff up
rapidly" as Zoom's popularity boomed during the pandemic, Yuan wrote in a
blog. At the same time, he also announced that he was reducing his own salary by
98 percent and foregoing his corporate bonus in 2023.

"We worked tirelessly and made Zoom better for our customers and users. But we
also made mistakes," Yuan wrote. "We didn’t take as much time as we should have
to thoroughly analyze our teams or assess if we were growing sustainably, toward
the highest priorities."

The future will tell if pivoting to AI and requiring the majority of employees
to return to the office are other mistakes for Zoom or necessary business moves.

A 2022 Gallup poll suggested that overall the majority of workers are resistant
to full-time in-office work—with more than 90 percent of 70 million workers
saying that they don't want to come back to the office full time.

However, workers generally appear more open to flexible hybrid structures like
Zoom is proposing. Only 34 percent of respondents said that they wanted to
"permanently work from home," while 65 percent preferred hybrid work.



READER COMMENTS

306 with
Ashley Belanger Ashley is a senior policy reporter for Ars Technica, dedicated
to tracking social impacts of emerging policies and new technologies. She is a
Chicago-based journalist with 20 years of experience.

Advertisement




CHANNEL ARS TECHNICA

SITREP: F-16 REPLACEMENT SEARCH A SIGNAL OF F-35 FAIL?

Footage courtesy of Dvids, Boeing, and The United States Navy.

 * SITREP: F-16 REPLACEMENT SEARCH A SIGNAL OF F-35 FAIL?

 * SITREP: BOEING 707

 * THE F-35'S NEXT TECH UPGRADE

 * US NAVY GETS AN ITALIAN ACCENT

 * SITREP: DOD RESETS BALLISTIC MISSILE INTERCEPTOR PROGRAM

 * SITREP: DOD'S NEW LONG-RANGE AIR-TO-AIR MISSILE AIMS TO "OUTSTICK" CHINA

 * ARMY'S NEW PISTOL HAS HAD SOME MISFIRES

 * ARMY'S NEXT (VERTICAL) LIFT EN ROUTE

 * SITREP: PRESIDENT TRUMP'S MISSILE DEFENSE STRATEGY

 * HYBRID OPTIONS FOR US'S NEXT TOP FIGHTER

 * THE AIR FORCE’S SENIOR CITIZEN CHOPPER CAN’T RETIRE YET

 * ARS LIVE #23: THE HISTORY AND FUTURE OF TECH LAW

 * POLICE RE-CREATION OF BODY CAMERA EVIDENCE - PUEBLO, CO | ARS TECHNICA

 * VISUAL LABS BODY CAMERA SOFTWARE WITH THE DOS PALOS PD | ARS TECHNICA

 * HE KNEW HIS RIGHTS; HE GOT TASED ANYWAY

More videos
← Previous story Next story →


RELATED STORIES

by Taboolaby Taboola
Sponsored LinksSponsored Links
Promoted LinksPromoted Links
Treppenlifte | Gesponserte Links

Neue mobile Treppenlifte erfordern keine InstallationTreppenlifte | Gesponserte
LinksJetzt Suchen
Hausnotruf-Heute

Rentner-Sturzgefahr: Für diese Uhr zahlt die Kasse.Hausnotruf-HeuteMehr erfahren
hopondeals.com

Die 5 besten SUVs auf dem Markthopondeals.comJetzt Anschauen
Pro Verbraucher

Senioren empört: Anspruch auf Sterbegeld ist vielen unbekanntPro Verbraucher
goldentree.de

Schönheitschirurg: "Kreppige Haut? Straffen Sie Ihre Haut in einer Minute
täglich!"goldentree.deMehr erfahren
DZ4 Solaranlagen

Eigenes Solardach: Diesen Fehler machen fast alleDZ4 SolaranlagenWeiterlesen



TODAY ON ARS

 * Store
 * Subscribe
 * About Us
 * RSS Feeds
 * View Mobile Site

 * Contact Us
 * Staff
 * Advertise with us
 * Reprints


NEWSLETTER SIGNUP

Join the Ars Orbital Transmission mailing list to get weekly updates delivered
to your inbox. Sign me up →



CNMN Collection
WIRED Media Group
© 2023 Condé Nast. All rights reserved. Use of and/or registration on any
portion of this site constitutes acceptance of our User Agreement (updated
1/1/20) and Privacy Policy and Cookie Statement (updated 1/1/20) and Ars
Technica Addendum (effective 8/21/2018). Ars may earn compensation on sales from
links on this site. Read our affiliate link policy.
Your California Privacy Rights | Manage Preferences
The material on this site may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted,
cached or otherwise used, except with the prior written permission of Condé
Nast.
Ad Choices


We and our partners store and/or access information on a device, such as unique
IDs in cookies to process personal data. You may accept or manage your choices
by clicking below or at any time in the privacy policy page. These choices will
be signaled to our partners and will not affect browsing data.More information
about your privacy


WE AND OUR PARTNERS PROCESS DATA TO PROVIDE:

Use precise geolocation data. Actively scan device characteristics for
identification. Store and/or access information on a device. Personalised ads
and content, ad and content measurement, audience insights and product
development. List of Partners (vendors)

I Accept
Show Purposes