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Nothing, a British startup seeking to challenge Apple\u2019s smartphone dominance, is hauling its employees back to the office full-time in the quest for growth.<\/p>\n
In a lengthy email disparaging remote work, which had been a tenet of Nothing CEO Carl Pei\u2019s workplace policy since its creation four years ago, Pei explained why his 450 employees needed to come to the office five days a week.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cRemote work is not compatible with a high ambition level plus high speed,\u201d Pei said in an email to staff, which he shared on LinkedIn<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n Pei gave three reasons for the strict return-to-office mandate. First, he said, the logistics of developing a smartphone, where design, engineering, and manufacturing departments collaborate, weren\u2019t conducive to remote working.<\/p>\n He added that creativity and innovation worked better in person, allowing the company to do more with fewer resources.<\/p>\n Third, Pei said Nothing\u2019s ambitions to scale to become a \u201cgeneration-defining company\u201d wouldn\u2019t be achievable with remote work.<\/p>\n According to Pei\u2019s email, the new mandate will take effect in two months, and he intends to hold a town hall in London to answer employees\u2019 questions.\u00a0<\/p>\n In his email, the Nothing CEO also suggested that employees who could not commit to five days in the office look for other employment.<\/p>\n \u201cWe know it\u2019s not the right type of setup for everybody, and that\u2019s okay. We should look for a mutual fit. You should find an environment where you thrive, and we need to find people who want to go the full mile with us in the decades ahead.\u201d<\/p>\n A representative for Nothing didn\u2019t immediately respond to Fortune\u2019<\/em>s request for comment.<\/p>\n Pei\u2019s move reflects a growing trend in the tech sector of bosses opting to force their employees back into the office in search of growth as the market tightens.\u00a0<\/p>\n Nothing\u2019s competitor, Apple, has a strict three-days-per-week in-office mandate. Last year, tech newsletter Platformer <\/em>reported that Apple was disciplining employees<\/a> who didn\u2019t follow the rule, identified through badge tapping.\u00a0<\/p>\n Some departments reportedly threatened their employees with termination if they didn\u2019t make it in three days a week.\u00a0<\/p>\n Meanwhile, tech giant Nvidia has skipped<\/a> the return-to-office craze, indicating it is satisfied with a remote-work setup at a time when its market valuation has soared to more than $3 trillion.<\/p>\n Founded at the height of the pandemic in 2020, Nothing was effectively remote when the company started operations before switching to hybrid in its main London office and other locations.<\/p>\n Pei\u2019s company had early solid success, securing $96 million<\/a> in funding last year and selling<\/a> 2.7 million units for nearly a billion dollars in revenue since its launch.\u00a0<\/p>\n It\u2019s unclear what most employees\u2019 contracts said when they signed for the group in the COVID era. Many workers who signed for other companies during the pandemic have had their contracts guarantee they won\u2019t be required to be in the office.<\/p>\n It\u2019s also unknown how many of Nothing\u2019s 450 employees live close to the office. Many professional workers bought homes outside London during the pandemic.<\/p>\n Opponents of a return to full-time in-office work argue it disadvantages working mothers, who are more likely to sacrifice their careers to carry out childcare responsibilities. Remote work has helped increase flexibility<\/a> for this cohort.<\/p>\n Pei said there would be flexibility with the policy, though only for employees to leave the office to engage in face-to-face meetings.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cSome may be worried about flexibility, but this is no different from pre-COVID. This is a company for grownups, so if you need to be out of office to deal with some issues, we trust you to make the right decision. In fact, some roles like sales and PR need to be out of the office meeting with customers and press regularly.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\nNothing\u2019s pivot<\/h2>\n
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