Nothing, the phone company founded by OnePlus founder Carl Pei, has announced that all employees must return to the office five days a week.
Nothing is trying to stand out in the crowded Android phone landscape and become “a generation-defining company.” Nothing takes its cues from Apple and Samsung, emphasizes polished designs, and delivers a cohesive experience.
According to Pei’s LinkedIn post, remote and hybrid work is incompatible with these goals.
First, we make physical products where design, engineering, manufacturing and quality need to work closely together to deliver products to our users. This doesn’t work well remotely.
Second, creativity and innovation are the keys to winning against larger companies. Not just with products, we also need to solve difficult problems and do more than the competition with far fewer resources in all areas of our business. That doesn’t work well remotely.
Finally, our ambitions are different from those of many similar companies that were founded at the same time. We don’t want to build a good company that gets acquired by a big company, but we want to reach our full potential and become a company that shapes a generation. And we are really serious about moving fast. Remote work is not compatible with high ambition and high speed.
Pei said the change would not affect the normal flexibility that users enjoy.
Some may worry about flexibility, but this is no different than it was pre-COVID. This is a grown-up company, so we trust you are making the right decision if you need to be out of the office for business reasons. In fact, some roles like sales and PR require regular meetings outside of the office with clients and press.
Pei acknowledged that the decision was controversial and meant that Nothing was no longer suitable for everyone, but stressed that employees and companies need to look for better-fitting options.
We know it’s not right for everyone, and that’s OK. We should look for a mutual fit. You should find an environment that you’re comfortable in, and we need to find people who want to stick with us to the end in the decades to come.
This will come into effect in two months’ time. We will be able to answer any questions live at our next Town Hall in London.
The vast majority of companies have accepted hybrid working as the new normal and most CEOs have come to terms with the new reality.
