'You Can't Possibly Get Everything Done': Martha Stewart Slams Remote Work, on 'Rampage' to Get Workers Back in the Office Stewart says she worked five days a week through the pandemic.
By Emily Rella •
Business mogul and 2023 SI Swimsuit cover star Martha Stewart is not holding back when it comes to how she feels about the shift to remote work in the U.S. since the pandemic.
In an interview with Footwear News, the 81-year-old revealed that at the height of the pandemic, she worked a five-day workweek from her Bedford, New York, home and maintains that she's on a self-proclaimed "rampage" to get the majority of corporate America back to in-office work.
"You can't possibly get everything done working three days a week in the office and two days remotely," she told the outlet, bluntly. "Look at the success of France with their stupid … you know, off for August, blah blah blah. That's not a very thriving country. Should America go down the drain because people don't want to go back to work?"
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Stewart's comments aren't entirely shocking: The media maven has not been shy with her opinion on work ethic and corporate culture in America.
In a February 2021 interview with Harper's Bazaar, Stewart revealed that she wakes up at 4 a.m. each morning to get her work day started.
"The CEO should be available to everybody at all times, if possible," Stewart said of her business rules. "You should be able to call anybody anytime, even on weekends."
Stewart joins the ranks of other moguls who have affirmed their belief that working remotely leads to a lack of productivity, including Elon Musk who demanded that all Tesla employees return to a 40-hour in-office workweek last June or risk termination from the company.
According to a McKinsey survey from June 2022, 58% of U.S. workers had the option to work remotely at least once a week, and 35% of workers were permitted to work fully remotely.
Stewart is worth an estimated $400 million.
