New Starbucks boss Brian Niccol caused many to spit out their coffee with the news he will commute around 1,000 miles from his home in California to the company’s HQ in Seattle. It’s true that he’ll have the luxury of the company jet for his trips to the office, which the coffee giant says will mean he’s meeting its policy of showing up for work in person at least three days a week.
But are the arguments about private jets and corporate lifestyles missing the point? We should really be asking whether any worker needs to be in the office three days a week if they can perform the role equally well from their home. Niccol will work flexibly, with a mixture of being in the office and working from home. Of course, many disagree strongly with this. Investment analyst Dan Coatsworth told the BBC that in his opinion a leader “needs to be at the heart of a business, not sitting on the beach”.
