Martha Stewart wades into the remote working row

Martha Stewart slams US businesses for allowing staff to work from home and warns America will ‘go down the drain’

  • Martha Stewart, 81, shared her candid thoughts on remote work in an interview
  • She is worth an estimated $400million through her media and publishing empire

Martha Stewart has blasted businesses for allowing employees to work from home, saying that it will lead America ‘down the drain’.

Stewart, 81, shared her candid thoughts on remote work in an interview with Footwear News, published Monday, arguing that people cannot ‘possibly get everything done working three days a week in the office and two days remotely’.

The octogenarian cook, author, TV personality and media-mogul, detailed her packed work schedule and even revealed that she ‘continued to work five days a week’ during the coronavirus pandemic.

Stewart is worth an estimated $400million through her empire Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia which works in publishing, broadcasting, and product lines.

The entrepreneur’s comments come at a time when an increasing number of companies are offering their staff a hybrid model of work, with many asking their employees to come in just two-and-a-half days a week.

Martha Stewart, 81, shared her candid thoughts on remote work in an interview with Footwear News. She is pictured at the 2023 Sports Illustrated Swimsuit issue launch, New York, May 18, 2023

Stewart is worth an estimated $400million through her empire Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia. She is pictured presenting a tribute to the late talk show host Larry King during the 48th Daytime Emmy Awards, June 25, 2021

Stewart compared the current American approach to work with France, calling it ‘not a very thriving country’.

She noted that many French companies allow their employees to take a long period off work during the summer months – with many receiving 30 days a year of paid vacation.

‘Look at the success of France with their stupid… you know, off for August, blah blah blah,’ Stewart said.

‘That’s not a very thriving country. Should America go down the drain because people don’t want to go back to work?’

The Martha Stewart Living founder told the publication that she was on a ‘rampage’ to get people back into the office.

It was revealed last month that the number of firms offering staff the option to work from home has increased again from the previous three months before.

Data gathered from Scoop Technologies said the number of companies that require full time attendance at the office has declined from 49 percent in March to just 42 percent in May. 

The index of almost 4,500 companies revealed that companies are requiring just 2.5 days in the office from flexible workers.

It was revealed last month that the number of firms offering staff the option to work from home has increased again from the previous three months before (file image)

Stewart compared the current American approach to work with France, calling it ‘not a very thriving country’. She is pictured at the 2023 Sports Illustrated Swimsuit issue launch, New York, May 18, 2023

Stewart is just the latest high-profile figure to brandish working from home as a disaster for business.

Tesla CEO Elon Musk in May condemned working from home as ‘morally wrong’, saying the practice is unfair for service workers who still have to show up.

Musk, who is worth around $175.8 billion and is the second richest person in the world, has often criticized working from home that became a necessity for many during Covid-19 lockdowns.

The Twitter boss referred to workers in Silicon Valley’s tech industry as the ‘laptop classes living in la-la-land’ in an interview with CNBC last month.

Tesla boss Elon Musk last night (pictured) condemned working from home as ‘morally wrong’, saying the practice is unfair for service workers who still have to show up

He told the network’s David Faber that he believes being in the office boosts productivity, but also said his opposition to working from home was a ‘moral issue’.

‘The whole work-from-home thing, it’s sort of like, I think it’s, like, there are some exceptions, but I kind of think that the whole notion of work-from-home is a bit like, you know, the fake Marie Antoinette quote, “Let them eat cake,”‘ he told Faber.

‘It’s like, it’s like really? You’re gonna work from home and you’re gonna make everyone else who made your car come work in the factory? You’re gonna make people who make your food that gets delivered – they can’t work from home? The people that come fix your house? They can’t work from home, but you can?’

‘Does that seem morally right?’ he asked. ‘That’s messed up.’

‘It’s a productivity issue, but it’s also a moral issue. People should get off their goddamn moral high horse with this bulls**t because they’re asking everyone else to not work from home while they do. It’s wrong.’ 

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