05/13/2025

CEOs Are Tired of Coddling Employees

However, social norms don't allow them to admit it

Corporate America's long-running war for talent sounds more like a war on the talent these days.

Not long ago, bosses routinely praised workers as their most prized asset, so much that some hoarded new hires before having enough for them to do. Today, with a giant question mark hanging over the economy, executives are pulling no punches in saying employees need to work harder, complain less and be glad they still have jobs.

"Work-life balance is your problem," Emma Grede, co-founder of the shapewear company Skims and CEO of clothing label Good American, said this month. After recently cutting more than a 1,000 jobs, Starbucks CEO Brian Niccol said remaining corporate staff needed to step it up and “own whether or not this place grows.” JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon, in a profanity-laced internal meeting, told employees lamenting a return-to-office (RTO) mandate that he didn't care.

Please select this link to read the complete article from The Wall Street Journal.