Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey is trying a unique strategy to get remote workers to return downtown: insulting them.
“I don’t know if you saw this study the other day,” Frey told an audience of 1,000 at Minneapolis Downtown Council’s annual meeting on Wednesday. “What this study clearly showed … is that when people who have the ability to come downtown to an office don’t — when they stay home sitting on their couch, with their nasty cat blanket, diddling on their laptop — if they do that for a few months, you become a loser!”
The comment was a “complete joke” and the study was made-up, the Minneapolis mayor’s office told Fortune, but there are serious facts to back up Frey’s worry about the impact of remote work on Minneapolis’ downtown economy.
I can’t read this article, but I’ve seen (and posted) other articles about this. Governor Walz responded with “I guess I’m a nasty cat blanket person then”. The DFL isn’t a sack of shit, but Mayor Frey sure is. And he got re elected last time because he’s about as conservative as can win here and the downtown businesses threw a bunch of money in his campaign.
Maybe they should have used that money to entice workers back into the office…
The whole back to the office argument is stupid. Rather than trying to force people back businesses should realize this is an opportunity to decrease their outgoings. Sell the giant waste of space office in an expensive part of town, and just carry on doing what you’re already doing.
I made them put that I am a permanent homework in my contract so they can’t make me go back into that office. But they still maintain the physical building which is mad. Now they’re just getting the worst of both worlds, their employees are removed yet their paying for a building. About a year before the lockdown they replaced the expensive staffed canteen with vending machines, and that pissed everyone off. They still haven’t undone that yet so why should I go back?
See, that’s the problem most normies don’t know: These offices have LONG leases. They’re basically a home owner that bought on a bubble.
They still deserve to lose the investment, though. That’s what all their money is for, right? Taking risks? Sounds like they should’ve kept more around for a rainy day…
The only “people” who truly are interested in RTO are real estate holding companies desperately trying to stave off financial ruin, and executives/billionaires who have investments therein.
The arm twisting is coming right from the top and isn’t going to work long term.
It’s daft though because at the rate AI development is going this was going to happen anyway even without COVID.