Boeing’s senior managers have decided not to move closer to its headquarters, despite the company’s push for lower-level employees to return after the pandemic ends.
The executives, including David Calhoun, who became Boeing CEO in January 2020, are instead commuting to the company’s headquarters in Virginia by private jet.
During the pandemic, Calhoun regularly worked from his two mansion-like homes, consisting of a waterfront estate on Lake Sunapee in New Hampshire and a gated resort community in Buffalo, South Carolina.
Flight data viewed by the Wall Street Journal show Calhoun made more than 400 flights on Boeing private jets.
Some of the flights were to Boeing’s recently relocated headquarters in Arlington, Virginia, after previously being in Chicago.
Boeing is trying to lure employees back to the office with happy hours and even visits from alpacas, but low-level employees say executives should follow suit
CEO David Calhoun has taken more than 400 private jet trips from his home and is rarely seen at the Virginia headquarters, preferring to work remotely
But the records also show that Calhoun used the plane to make stops in California, Texas and several locations along the Florida coast.
Calhoun is forced to use Boeing-supplied private jets for all his travel, both business and personal, for safety reasons, as determined by Boeing’s board of directors.
It is not clear from the logbooks which trips were for business and which were for pleasure.
Similarly, Boeing CFO Brian West is another senior executive who has decided not to move from his home in New Canaan, Connecticut.
Boeing does indeed have an office that opened a building in New Canaan, just five minutes from West’s home, in the spring of this year, but that was intended to house the company’s new treasurer, David Whitehouse, rather than West.
Boeing only recently moved its headquarters to Arlington, Virginia, after previously being in Chicago
Boeing CEO Dave Calhoun stays at his lake house in New Hampshire, while CFO Brian West doesn’t venture into the nearest Boeing office in Connecticut despite living just five minutes away
Whitehouse started working for Boeing in February and lives a half-hour drive from the Connecticut office.
Calhoun and West have rarely been seen at Boeing’s Arlington offices since it opened two years ago, despite the company’s push for lower-ranking employees to return in person.
Managers pushing for a return have tried a variety of tactics to lure employees back to their desks, including after-work happy hours, inviting guest speakers and bringing along alpacas in the hope that some staffers would be tempted to return .
The results have had limited success.
It’s a familiar story for workers across the country being asked to return to the office, with particular frustration at having to show up at their desks for tasks that could easily be completed remotely.
The discontent will only arise if executives like Calhoun continue to work from home and occasionally commute on private jets.
Managers pushing for a return have tried a variety of tactics to lure workers back to their desks, even bringing along alpacas in the hope that some staff members would be tempted to return
At the Arlington headquarters, some employees have souvenir mugs that read: ‘Love Lake Life’ – a clear image of Calhoun’s relaxing lake life
At Arlington headquarters, some signs have appeared that read “Lake Sunapee,” while some souvenir mugs read “Love Lake Life” – a clear expression of the relaxing Lake Calhoun lifestyle.
A Boeing spokesperson highlighted their efforts to transform leadership culture by allowing senior leaders to spend more time out of the office.
“We have transformed our leadership culture to encourage our management team to engage more frequently with employees, customers and other stakeholders. It’s why we moved senior leaders out of our Chicago office three years ago and brought them closer to their teams, and why we continue to encourage them to spend less time at headquarters and more time with employees and stakeholders ‘, said a statement.
A company spokesperson also highlighted the benefits of greater flexibility, which they said supports the company’s global operations and helps attract top talent.
But only about 30 percent of Boeing’s recent job openings are for hybrid or fully remote positions.
Of the 129 open vacancies in Arlington, Virginia require you to come to the office in person.