Elon Musk's Irrational Stance On Remote Work

If a phone or laptop is the only equipment someone needs for their job, apart from a charger or router for the device, that is, then it is always less safe, less convenient, and perhaps less productive to make people squander their time in daily commutes.  Driving to work always brings the possibility of loss of life or health, as even without traffic collisions, there are many potential mechanical failures or health conditions that could strike and lead to a crash of some kind.  That does not even touch on the lesser environmental emissions and the additional free time for employees before and after a working period that remote work allows for--not that business leaders tend to care about either of those things under American-style capitalism!

Some jobs cannot be done except in person, at least safely or effectively.  If artificial intelligence and automation were to become more refined and introduced into more functions in the workplace, human presence could be diminished, which would increase human safety and convenience; with the current social framework in place in countries like America, however, this would likely not be used to give humans remote jobs or remote participation in formerly in-person roles, but to exclude them from the workforce altogether.  Some employers are more direct about not permitting workers to labor remotely even when the job is not hindered by it and in spite of the many objective benefits for employees.

Elon Musk has reportedly said that the "laptop classes" are living in delusion, that it is immoral for them to get to work from home (or elsewhere outside of a company office) while other people who make their cars or their food have to labor in person [1].  Ignoring the clear distinctions between different industries and roles, and how some of them are better or perfectly suited for remote work using a laptop and the internet, he condemns remote workers for not wanting to trade time with friends or family for traffic-filled commutes, for wanting to do what is most convenient for them as they work for their companies, and for not wanting to partake in a convention that is no longer technologically necessary.

Except for the specific cases where work is necessary in a particular physical location for the likes of worker safety or actual productivity (not to enforce arbitrary productivity demands), there is absolutely no reason why any workers should not at least be offered the option of remote labor if they would prefer it.  Communication between employees can still occur by phone, by email, or by workplace-specific messaging applications.  Deadlines can still be met.  Information can still be logged, shared, or analyzed.  For all applicable jobs, remote work is plainly the ideal option for those who do not want to surrender more time than is absolutely necessary to work, who want to pursue health or enjoy their relationships.

To exert power, to engage in more direct micromanaging, and/or to force compliance with meaningless traditions are the sole reasons why those with the most illusionary authority in the workplace hierarchy might want to abolish or scale back remote work.  How else would middle managers whose only real role is to micromanage or gratuitously observe the workers who are actually accomplishing the important tasks hide in their flimsy obscurity?  How else would a certain kind of egoistic leader feel like they are in charge to interfere when it is not required?  How else would the often pointless tradition of seeing one's coworkers in person be continued?  It is not always for productivity or alleged moral reasons why remote work is opposed.  Imposing subjective whims as if they were obligations, as Elon Musk wants to, is the real irrationality or injustice here.

[1].  https://www.businessinsider.com/elon-musk-remote-work-morally-wrong-get-off-high-horse-2023-5?amp