IBM’s CEO is forecasting the future will be hybrid and remote work will be a mainstay long after the pandemic ends.
During the Aspen Ideas Festival, Arvind Krishna said that just 20% of his company’s staff would be in the office three days a week, while just half will return to their desks.
“I don’t think it’ll ever cross 60 [percent],” Krishna said about the firm’s office occupancy. “So I think we’ve learned a new normal.”
While IBM appears to be all-in on remote working policies, its operations are still banking on the necessity of having an office as part of its network.
Just this year, the company signed a 16-year lease to take up 300,000 square feet of office space in Manhattan, consolidating employees from 10 offices across the city. However, this lease does decrease IBM’s overall footprint.