 |
|
|
|||||
Microsoft is the latest tech giant to announce its new return-to-work (RTO) mandate. The first phase of the mandate is set to start in February 2026, requiring Seattle-area employees living within a 50 miles radius of a Microsoft office will need to be in office at least three days a week. Over the next year, the company expects the same from the rest of its U.S. and international employees. Microsoft was one of the last big companies to offer their workforce flexibility. Competitors like Google, Meta, Amazon, Zoom, and AT&T have all announced their own unique policies requiring workers to be in the office. These are all innovative, technology-led companies. Yet their RTO mandates and hybrid work policies are all supremely outdated. Instead of honestly considering what the future of work means for employees and how it can benefit companies, many leaders are scared that if employees are allowed to work from anywhere, they will lose a bit of control over their workforce. Real leaders are embracing the future. At Gather, we recognize that flexibility is the key to accessing higher tier talent, bigger clients, and ultimately better business outcomes. Change of mindset Once upon a time, CEOs were huge fans of working from home. Many notable business leaders are on record stating the benefits of working from home from a business, personal, and even a societal level. Mark Zuckerberg famously said, I’ve found that working remotely has given me more space for long-term thinking and helped me spend more time with my family, which has made me happier and more productive at work. Why the sudden shift? These RTO mandates arent to build culture or increase productivity or any of the other canned responses. Instead, many companies are locked into long-term leases on office spaces in cities all across the country. For decades, a 10-year lease for office space was the norm for large corporations. It kept rent costs stable and allowed companies to set up roots in major hubs across the nation. When companies signed these leases, it was a smart move. Then came the pandemic. People were forced to work from home. Large office spaces werent just unnecessary; they became a hazard for employee safety. All work shifted to remote work, and the results spoke for themselves. A study from the U.S. Career Institute found that companies can save up to $10,600 per employee who works remotely and remote work can have a positive impact on an employees mental and physical health. Countering many productivity claims, the study also found that 79% of managers feel their team is more productive when working remotely. RTO does more harm than good Fast forward a few years post-pandemic, and these long-term leases still exist. Despite all the benefits seen from remote work, companies are desperate to justify their massive spends on office space. So, employees are coerced to get their butts back in seats with rigid mandates bolstered by claims of productivity. These mandates have already demonstrated a negative impact on employees and businesses alike. There is little evidence that RTO mandates improve a companys financial performance, according to an MIT Sloan Management Review article. RTO mandates disrupt employees established positive work routines, leading to higher attrition, especially among high-performing employees and those with caregiving responsibilitiesanother strike against corporate America and its record with women in the workforce. Whats more, RTO mandates often function as thinly veiled layoffs, further increasing attrition and the exodus of top talent while decreasing trust. A recent study from Workways found that 71% of HR leaders report eroded trust post-RTO announcements and 80% of companies lost talent because of the mandates. Even if returning to the office actually increased productivity, to make the terms of returning so inflexible disregards the way people work. Even when these mandates are classified as hybrid and only require a few days in the office, companies are missing the point. To be truly productive requires flexibility and agility. A new definition of hybrid In 2025, defining hybrid work must go well beyond the outdated discussion of where work is being done. Hybrid must be multifaceted. Companies need to approach hybrid work by considering which projects and teams come together for collaborative roles and which need the privacy and focus of working independentlyand recognizing that those parameters can change depending on project demands. It is a balance of people, places, tools, and culture. To be clear, Im not anti-office. There is a time and a place for bolstering corporate culture and collaboration. However, the decision should not be made by executives in an ivory tower but by team leaders based on the needs of their teams. RTO mandates will continue to make headlines for the rest of this year and any time a major company announces its new policy. But, as these long-term leases diminish, lets see how many mandates remain. The debate is not and has never been about the RTO mandates themselves. The real debate is on the future of work and what that looks and feels like for leaders. The pandemic made it clear: Companies are perfectly capable of adapting to the wants and needs of the workforce when forced to do so. The real future of work isnt about office space, water cooler talk, or butts in seats. It is rooted in trust, respect, and readiness to embrace change. The leaders that follow this path will set their companies up for success, winning the battle for talent and performance. Justin Tobin is founder and president of Gather.
Category:
E-Commerce
In recent conversations with customers and peers, Im not hearing Which AI model or tool should we pick? Im hearing How do we operationalize AI across our critical workflows? People are starting to understand real digital transformation doesnt come from a bolt-on solution. It happens when we treat AI as a foundational force and an engine for lasting change. The shift toward an AI-powered workplace requires leaders to enable organizational intelligence across the enterprise. WHAT IS ORGANIZATIONAL INTELLIGENCE? At Wrike, we define organizational intelligence as the seamless integration of human insight and AI capabilities to drive measurable outcomes at increased speed and scale. Its the difference between patchwork AI adoption and true collaboration between humans and machines. Done right, organizational intelligence blends human creativity, judgment, context, and intent with AIs strength in driving automation, data synthesis, and pattern recognition. When all of that is present at the same time, AI stops being a feature and evolves into a core part of how a business learns. Unlocking organizational intelligence goes beyond a change in mindset, although thats key, too. R Ray Wang, CEO of Constellation Research, who I sat down with recently, said everyone is avoiding doing the hard part right nowthe data strategy. But how we handle and manage data is equally critical to getting AI transformation right, alongside culture adjustments, and our enthusiasm toward the technology. Organizations require a robust foundation for data. This includes designing, structuring, and connecting information so AI can interpret not just isolated facts, but the full business context and meaning behind them. WHY AI ALONE ISNT THE ANSWER While business leaders race to bring on AI tools, adoption has often outpaced ROI. McKinsey reports that while a vast majority of companies plan to increase AI investments (92%), only about 1% of leaders say their organizations have reached true AI maturity, where AI is fully integrated and yielding substantial outcomes. Many popular AI solutions solve isolated problems, automating individual tasks without addressing deeper needs for team alignment, context, and strategy. Instead of outcome-driven decision-making, organizations end up with more fragmentation. Disconnected automations, inconsistent data, and siloed workflows compound inefficiencies. Recent Wrike research found that 41% of knowledge workers said their companies lost critical information in the past year due to scattered systems and siloed knowledge across platforms. Thats not a technology failure. Its an organizational one and a leadership oversight that can limit company growth. 3 PRINCIPLES TO ACHIEVE ORGANIZATIONAL INTELLIGENCE Think of the project manager juggling four different collaboration platforms, each with partial information. AI introduced in that environment wont spark clarity. It will multiply the noise. As leaders, its our responsibility to move our organizations beyond tool adoption and toward systemic intelligence: connecting people, processes, and platforms into a unified whole. That requires rewiring the way we work and rethinking how we manage data, context, and collaboration. Three principles stand out to me: 1. Build foundation over features Chasing the newest AI tool can be tempting, but fragmented adoption creates the illusion of scale without delivering true capability. Prioritize a unified foundation where AI can plug in, learn, and operate effectively by clearly documenting and standardizing workflows, improving data hygiene, and consolidating the supporting platforms to drive visibility and ownership. The question to ask isnt What tool are we adopting? but What system are we building? 2. Make context your competitive edge AI cant read between the lines if there are no lines to read between. Too often, critical knowledge lives in meeting notes, hallway conversations, or in the minds of employees. Without this context, AI produces generic outputs that lack trust and relevance. Leaders must operationalize context, as well as embed decision rationales, project outcomes, and other institutional knowledge into workflows. This may come in the form of structured fields for project outcomes, standardized post-mortems, or AI agents trained on your organizations language and workflows. In a market where business advantage often depends on nuance such as customer preferences, regulatory shifts, and competitive signals, context may be the single sharpest edge we as leaders can champion. 3. Reframe ai as a multiplier, not a shortcut AI should accelerate human creativity, critical thinking, and connection, not bypass them. This requires leaders to redefine roles: What must humans own, and where can AI extend their reach? Trust and governance are also non-negotiable. Teams will only adopt AI if they know security and ethics are protected. Leaders who ignore these responsibilities risk stalling adoption before it even begins. THE FUTURE BELONGS TO THE CONNECTED Moving forward, organizations that thrive wont be defined by the size of their AI stack. Theyll be known for how intelligently they connect teams, workflows, and outcomes so the enterprise learns and improves with every project. Companies that link people, processes, and platforms into a single intelligent system will adapt faster, innovate more effectively, and build resilience in a rapidly changing environment. Leaders who prioritize organizational intelligence now are setting the stage for these long-term advantages. Your true differentiator isnt AI alone. Its connection, context, and the combined capacity of humans and machines to learn together within a shared system of record for work. Tom Scott is the CEO at Wrike/a>.
Category:
E-Commerce
Yesterday, after the stock markets closing bell, Nvidia Corporation (Nasdaq: NVDA) reported its Q3 2026 financials. Investors were eagerly anticipating the results, as the company is widely seen as a bellwether for the broader artificial intelligence market. Nvidias Q3 results were all the more anticipated as fears over an AI bubble have grown in recent months. But those fears seem to be put to bed, at least temporarily. Nvidia didnt just meet expectations. It beat them. As a result, Nvidias stock price is jumping in premarket trading todayand it’s helping lift the stock prices of most other chipmakers and Big Tech giants. Heres what you need to know. Nvidias Q3 results lift NVDAs stock price Yesterday, Nvidia reported Q3 results that beat expectations. This includes revenue of $57.01 billion and an adjusted earnings per share (EPS) of $1.30. As noted by CNBC, LSEG analysts had expected Nvidia to post $54.92 billion in revenue and an adjusted EPS of $1.25. But it wasnt just these all-important beats that investors are celebrating. Nvidia also said it expects revenue in its current Q4 to reach around $65 billion. Analysts had been expecting around $62 billion. Further, Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang started off the companys financial call addressing fears about an AI bubble head-on. Theres been a lot of talk about an AI bubble, Huang said. But from our vantage point, were seeing something very different. He went on to detail three broad technological transitions, which he says are driving the AI industry. As a result of the good news, Nvidia shares are jumping in premarket trading this morning, as of the time of this writing. Currently, NVDA shares are up nearly 5% to almost $196 per share. Yesterday, NVDA shares closed up 2.85% to 186.52. But over the past five-day period, NVDA shares had sunk 3.76% as fears of an AI bubble grew. However, based on Nvidias stock price this morning, the companys quarterly results and forecast have allayed investors’ fears. And Nvidias stock price isnt the only one that is rising. Chipmaking stocks jump after Nvidias earnings beat Nvidia is a sort of bellwether for chipmaker stocks. If Nvidia is doing well or, more importantly, forecasting growth, many investors believe that growth potential could favorably affect other chipmaker stocks and the stock prices of the companies that those chipmakers rely on. And today, it appears Nvidia is indeed having a rising tide lifts all boats effect on broader chip stocks. As of this writing, major chipmakers and chip-adjacent companies are seeing their stock prices rise in premarket, including: Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. (Nasdaq: AMD): up 4.3% Arm Holdings plc (Nasdaq: ARM): up 3.3% Broadcom Inc. (Nasdaq: AVGO):up 2.8% Intel Corporation (Nasdaq: INTC): up 1.8% Micron Technology, Inc. (Nasdaq: MU):up 2.3% NVIDIA Corporation (Nasdaq: NVDA): up 6% QUALCOMM Incorporated (Nasdaq: QCOM):up 0.8% Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company Limited (NYSE: TSM):up 2.5% Big Tech shares are also rising after Nvidias earnings It’s not just chip stocks that are getting a lift after Nvidias earnings. As Nvidia is grouped in with the Magnificent Seven, its positive earnings often help lift the share prices of other tech giants, many of whom are deeply invested in the AI space. As of the time of this writing, those other tech giants are also seeing green in premarket trading, including: Alphabet Inc. (Nasdaq: GOOG):up 1.9% Amazon.com, Inc. (Nasdaq: AMZN): up 1.6% Apple Inc. (Nasdaq: AAPL):up 0.4% Meta Platforms, Inc. (Nasdaq: META): up 1.2% Microsoft Corporation (Nasdaq: MSFT): up 1% Tesla, Inc. (Nasdaq: TSLA): up 1.9% Of course, while investors are cheering Nvidias earnings beat this morning, plenty of industry watchers still have fears that an AI bubble could be upon us. For now, Wall Street appears happy to put those fears on the back burnerat least until Nvidias fourth-quarter earnings approach in another three months.
Category:
E-Commerce
All news |
||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||