Ex-Google CEO advises employees to work from office if they want promotion

Eric Schmidt, the former CEO of Google, has stirred up the ongoing debate between remote and office work by advising young professionals to prioritise working from the office if they are serious about advancing their careers. Speaking on The Diary of a CEO podcast, Schmidt reflected on his early career and stressed the importance of in-person interactions for learning and professional growth.
Schmidt, who led Google from 2001 to 2011, shared that much of his learning came from informal office moments—conversations by the water cooler, attending meetings, and engaging with colleagues in the hallways.
“When I was a young executive, I knew nothing of what I was doing,” he admitted and revealed that being in the office environment helped him figure things out and connect with the right people. According to Schmidt, young professionals should follow a similar path, as these experiences are crucial for career advancement.
“If you are in your 20s, you want to be in an office because that’s how you are going to get promoted,” he advised.
Schmidt’s remarks align with recent studies that suggest a link between office attendance and career progression. A report cited by The Wall Street Journal indicated that fully remote employees are 31 percent less likely to be promoted compared to those who work from the office or in hybrid roles.
While Schmidt acknowledged that some remote work setups have led to productivity gains, he personally believes that being physically present in the office is more beneficial for professional development. His comments come at a time when several major companies, including Amazon and JPMorgan, have tightened their return-to-office policies, sometimes tying them to performance reviews.
Schmidt’s opinion echoes similar sentiments expressed by other tech leaders. Meta, for instance, now requires employees to be in the office at least three days a week, with CEO Mark Zuckerberg stating that engineers who work in-office are more productive than those working from home. OpenAI CEO Sam Altman has also voiced concerns about the long-term impact of fully remote work, calling it one of the tech industry’s biggest “mistakes.”
Google reportedly follows a hybrid work model that requires employees to work from office three days a week since 2022. Attendance has been linked to performance reviews, and the good thing is that the company has not followed Amazon’s approach of mandating five days of office work.