By KIMBERLEY HAAS
The president of a reverse mortgage company is claiming that Elon Musk’s message to Tesla employees unfairly bashes the benefits of remote work and that since going fully remote in 2020 his company has been voted by its employees as a top place to work.
Musk is demanding that Tesla office workers return to in-person work or leave the company.
“Anyone who wishes to do remote work must be in the office for a minimum (and I mean *minimum*) of 40 hours per week or depart Tesla. This is less than we ask of factory workers,” Musk wrote in leaked emails.
Although Tesla is an automotive and clean energy company, news of Musk’s demands sparked a new debate about the advantages and disadvantages of working from home.
David Peskin, President of Reverse Mortgage Funding, LLC, headquartered in Bloomfield, New Jersey, released a statement saying flexible workplace policies are essential for maintaining diverse, healthy, and engaging environments.
“This is especially true for fully remote companies who are competing for top talent across the nation – especially in the traditionally conservative financial and mortgage industries,” said Peskin. “Customers want to work with companies and representatives who resemble their own backgrounds, experiences and values, which is why it’s so important for companies to ensure equitable opportunities for everyone with inclusive workplace policies to accommodate remote work.”
The issue of remote work in the mortgage industry came up at United Wholesale Mortgage in January when it was reported that health officials in Michigan were investigating the company after receiving complaints about how they were handling COVID.
A former employee told Fox 2 in Detroit that people at the Pontiac campus wanted to work remotely, wanted sick colleagues to prove they were no longer contagious before returning to work, and for mask-wearing to be enforced.
The television station used a clip from a previous interview with UWM CEO Mat Ishbia where he said people don’t want to sit at home in pajamas and a button-up shirt long-term.
“And if you are one of those people — that’s just not a great fit for us — and that’s okay, there’s nothing wrong with that. We just know who we want, to be part of our family,” Ishbia said at the time.
While office suites aren’t as packed with workers as before the pandemic, the commercial market remains strong and vacancy rates are being monitored closely as the industry continues to grapple with COVID’s effects on the workplace.
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