Martha Stewart wades into the remote work line, says America ‘will go down the drain’

Martha Stewart has criticized companies for allowing employees to work from home, saying this will lead America “down the drain.”

Stewart, 81, shared her candid views on remote working in an interview with Footwear News published Monday, arguing that people ‘may not be getting everything done by working three days a week in the office and two days remotely’ .

The 80-year-old chef, author, TV personality and media mogul described her busy work schedule, even revealing that she “continued to work five days a week” during the coronavirus pandemic.

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

The entrepreneur’s comments come at a time when more and more companies are offering their employees a hybrid work model, with many asking their employees to come just two and a half days a week.

Stewart compared the current American way of working to France, calling it “not a very thriving country.”

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

“Look at France’s success with their stupid… you know, ready for August, blah blah blah,” Stewart said.

‘That’s not a very thriving country. Should America be screwed because people don’t want to work anymore?’

Martha Stewart Living’s founder told the publication she was on a “rampage” to get people back to the office.

Last month, it was revealed that the number of companies offering staff the option to work from home increased again from the previous three months.

Data from Scoop Technologies shows that the number of companies required to be in the office full-time has fallen from 49 percent in March to just 42 percent in May.

The index of almost 4,500 companies shows that companies only need 2.5 days at the office from flex workers.

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

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

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

The Twitter boss called workers in Silicon Valley’s tech industry the “laptop class living in la-la land” in an interview with CNBC last month.

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 kind of like, I think there are some exceptions, but I think the whole work from home idea is a little bit like, you know, Marie Antoinette’s fake quote, ‘Let them eat cake’, he said to Faber.

“It’s like, it’s real? You’re going to work from home and have everyone who made your car work at the factory? You’re going to make sure people who make your food that’s delivered – they can’t work from home? The people who come to fix your house? They can’t work from home, but can you?’

“Does that sound morally right?” he asked. “That’s confused.”

“It’s a productivity issue, but it’s also a moral issue. People should get off their goddamn moral high horse with this bullshit because they ask everyone not to work from home when they do. It’s wrong.’