Boeing Execs Rarely in the Office as Company Pushes Hybrid Work: Report
RIDING IN STYLE
REUTERS/David Ryder
Editor’s note: This cheat was updated to note that Boeing allows hybrid work for most employees.
Boeing’s top executives aren’t often seen at the company’s new Arlington headquarters, but when they need to pop their head in the office they rely on creative workarounds: private jet travel, or in one notable instance just opening a new office right down the street from their home. The company’s Chief Executive, David Calhoun, jets to Boeing HQ from either of his lavish homes in New Hampshire and South Carolina, The Wall Street Journal reported. Brian West, Boeing’s Chief Financial Officer, simply works out of a new office the company opened down the block from his Connecticut home in order to recruit a new treasurer. When a WSJ reporter paid a visit to the new digs, West was found in his new work attire: a polo shirt, shorts and slip-on shoes. The rather comfortable return for the executives comes as the company adopts hybrid work for most employees. “What’s he doing? Is he like at Lake Sunapee or something in New Hampshire?” CNBC host Jim Cramer said at one point of Calhoun’s antics. “I mean, what is he doing?” In a statement, Boeing said they had introduced more flexibility across the board, in part to attract talent. “We have been transforming 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 and closer to their teams three years ago, and why we continue to empower them to spend less time at corporate headquarters,” a spokesperson said.