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H M S In the news It indicates an expandable section or menu, or sometimes previous / next navigation options. HOMEPAGE 0 Newsletters An icon in the shape of a person's head and shoulders. It often indicates a user profile. Log in Subscribe Premium Home It indicates an expandable section or menu, or sometimes previous / next navigation options. Premium Leaked Zoom all-hands: CEO says employees must return to offices because they can't be as innovative or get to know each other on Zoom Ashley Stewart 2023-08-22T18:03:01Z A bookmark The letter F. An envelope. It indicates the ability to send an email. An curved arrow pointing right. A stylized bird with an open mouth, tweeting. Twitter The word "in". LinkedIn A stylized letter F. Flipboard The letter F. Facebook An envelope. It indicates the ability to send an email. Email An image of a chain link. It symobilizes a website link url. Copy Link Read in app Eric Yuan Zoom CEO Eric Yuan. Carlo Allegri/AP This story is available exclusively to Insider subscribers. Become an Insider and start reading now. [top-left] [bottom-rig] Redeem now * Earlier this month, Zoom told employees it would send some workers back to the office regularly. * Zoom CEO Eric Yuan said remote work didn't allow people to build as much trust or be as innovative. * The comments are surprising given the role Zoom's technology plays in remote work. Zoom CEO Eric Yuan told employees this month that the company was making the surprising decision to send some workers back to the office regularly because its flagship remote-work product didn't allow employees to build as much trust or be as innovative as in the office, according to a leaked meeting recording viewed by Insider. Zoom, one of the main enablers and beneficiaries of remote work, told employees living within 50 miles of a Zoom office that they must work there at least two days a week. The top reason for the mandate, Yuan said at the August 3 meeting, is that it's difficult for employees to get to know each other and build trust remotely. "In our early days, we all knew each other," Yuan said. "Over the past several years, we've hired so many new 'Zoomies' that it's really hard to build trust." He added: "Trust is a foundation for everything. Without trust, we will be slow." The second reason, he said, is that Zoom doesn't enable employees to have the conversations and debates that lead to innovation. "Quite often, you come up with great ideas, but when we are all on Zoom, it's really hard," Yuan said. "We cannot have a great conversation. We cannot debate each other well because everyone tends to be very friendly when you join a Zoom call." The comments, much like the decision to return some employees to offices, are surprising given the role Zoom's technology plays in remote work. The company's videoconferencing service became so ubiquitous early in the pandemic that its corporate name became a verb describing the act of firing up any video chat to connect with coworkers online. Many companies have announced return-to-office mandates. Amazon recently asked employees to relocate to their teams' offices or find new jobs. Meta this week told employees some might lose their jobs if they didn't show up at least three days a week. Zoom's return to office, at least from Yuan's comments, appears less strict, as he directed employees who have issues with the policy to apply for exceptions with the heads of their departments. Amazon, meanwhile, wants such exceptions to be rare. Zoom did not respond to a request for comment. Are you a tech-industry employee, or do you have insight to share? Contact Ashley Stewart via the encrypted messaging app Signal (+1-425-344-8242) or email (astewart@insider.com). 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