By Elisabeth Buchwald | CNN
New York — Big Tech has given workers an ultimatum: Come back to the office, or find a new job.
Elon Musk, Mark Zuckerberg and a host of other leaders of America’s biggest companies have made it clear that their success hinges upon everyone working in person.
Autodesk isn’t giving in to the peer pressure. But when peer pressure comes from some of the most successful companies, it’s a big risk to swim against the tide, and it usually doesn’t end well.
That didn’t deter Rebecca Pearce, chief people officer at Autodesk, from experimenting with a different approach.
Under her leadership, in March, Autodesk, a multinational software company that makes tools for architects and designers, unveiled a hybrid-centric approach dubbed Flex Forward. Under the new program, managers hold the reins. They decide when — or if — employees need to come in to the office.
The woman who advocated for it
British-born human relations executive Pearce was one of the loudest voices at C-suite level meetings advocating for Flex Forward.
“I’m cursed with being a futuristic optimist,” Pearce, who is based in Cornwall, England, told CNN.
Having spent most of her career in hybrid working arrangements across the globe, she knew she could be just as productive working from an office as she was working from anywhere else.
At the same time, she and other Autodesk executives wanted workers to come in to their offices, recognizing how important face-to-face interactions are for employees and for the company as a whole.
“There are some things that are just done better in person,” said Pearce, who became Autodesk’s interim chief people officer in January 2021 while the company searched for a permanent replacement for its prior CPO, who stepped down.
Pearce never expected to be considered for her role because no prior C-suite executive at Autodesk before her lived outside of North America, she said. “There were times when I just felt a…
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