Gen Z CEO hits back at baby boomer boss’ sweeping assumption about remote workers
A Gen-Z CEO has hit back at ex-Asda boss Lord Stuart Rose – and says some of the best work can be done “from a laptop in bed”.
Lord Rose, the former boss of Marks & Spencer and Asda, 75, told BBC’s Panorama working from home is creating a generation who are “not doing proper work”, on January 20.
But Vicky Owens, 24, who owns social media agency Socially Speaking, says “suffering through a long commute to the office” is not related to productivity.
She says her eight employees are MORE productive thanks to hybrid working, and “resting” at home during the work day is not “lazy”.
She thinks allowing her employees to work from home makes her a more approachable boss, and never forces anyone to come into the office if they don’t want to.
Vicky, from Manchester, a social media strategist for brands like Netflix, Vogue and TikTok, said: “I’m not sure why older generations think suffering through a long commute will make you more productive – I can’t believe anyone would say hybrid working is making us lazy.
“Taking the opportunity to rest during work is beneficial – but don’t get that confused with laziness.
“We’re recognizing, as the new generation, what’s going to make the team more productive.
“For that, we have to think smarter, not harder – and being mindful of employees’ wellbeing is the top priority.”
Vicky founded her business in early 2021, after spending months cold-calling businesses and offering to revamp their social media pages.
Since then, she’s been a social media strategist for huge brands.
She even employs her own sister, Lauren, 22, full-time.
After going through her own struggles with anxiety and panic disorder during her teenage years, Vicky says it enabled her to recognise when an employee might need help.
“When I initially wasn’t well with panic attacks and anxiety, it was good to have the option not to leave the house,” she said.
“Being aware of other people who might struggle with that has been a benefit – I’m not going to force someone to come in.
“Profit numbers have shown, if you give people that flexibility, time and space – productivity gets higher.
“As a good leader, you have to think about what’s going to make the team more productive; for some people, there’s too much going on in the office and they’d rather work from home.”
The CEO thinks Gen Z has a better awareness of mental health issues than older generations – which makes them more open to hybrid working.
But she also “refuses” to force her non-local employees to do a long commute to the office, if they don’t want to.
As well as two days of hybrid working a week, Vicky also offers flexible hours for people who live over 40 minutes away.
“Usually what I do, when I have a new member of the team, is I ask them to be in the office as much as possible for the first month,” she added.
“Once I see what they’re like, and how self-sufficient they are; that’s when we start to think about the set-up that would work best for them.
“If they’re not local – it might work to slightly change their hours, like letting them do 10am to 4pm in the office, and two additional hours from home.
“As long as people can be in for meetings on Mondays and Fridays, and can respect that there are boundaries to hybrid working, I think it’s great.”
Even as the founder of the company, Vicky says some of her best work has been done from her laptop in bed.
While it isn’t “all the time” – she says it’s important to rest her body and energise for the days she works in the office.
She said: “I think when older people think of working from home, they think of us taking Zoom calls in our pyjama bottoms.
“They think of us not changing, showering or even brushing our hair.
“But even when I work from home, I sometimes literally just stay in bed on my laptop.
“My body gets so exhausted from working, sometimes it’s beneficial to rest.”
Vicky’s advice for older CEOs:
- Stop assuming social media can’t be used effectively for work.
- Just because your employee wants to work from home twice a week, it doesn’t make them lazy.
- Check in on your employees’ wellbeing – and offer them work-from-home days if needed.
- Offer flexible hours for employees with longer commutes – like six hours in-house, two from home.
- Ask hybrid workers to write up a memo of the work they’ve completed at home.
