Wolfgang Grupp doesn't think much of home office: "You just lose yourself"
Created: 06/23/2022, 05:10
By: Sina Alonso Garcia
Wolfgang Grupp, head of the textile manufacturer Trigema, sees no potential in the home office.
© Bernd Weißbrod/dpa
Trigema boss Wolfgang Grupp cannot understand the trend towards working from home.
He insists on the presence of his employees.
At home, employees would increasingly enjoy themselves.
Burladingen - At least since the corona pandemic, no company can ignore the topic of working from home.
Even those who had previously always insisted on being present had to switch to digital arrangements at times and adapt their workflows accordingly.
After more than two years of pandemic, many companies are currently returning to compulsory presence in the company.
Trigema boss Wolfgang Grupp also prefers to see his employees on site than in the home office, as
BW24
reports.
In his view, people would increasingly enjoy themselves at home.
Trigema boss Wolfgang Grupp: Employees can only be recognized if they are present
During a discussion at the
New Work Experience
in Hamburg's Elbphilharmonie, Grupp spoke - as usual - plainly.
In a conversation with the boss of the employer rating platform Kununu, Nina Zimmermann, and the economics professor Jutta Rump, Grupp presented his counter-proposal to the home office.
"You just lose yourself," he said about working from home, according to the
Abendblatt
.
His alternative proposal: open-plan offices and the abolition of individual offices.
According to Grupp, Trigema no longer has individual offices.
He even works in a large office with several employees who are not physically separated from each other.
Son Wolfgang Junior and Grupp's wife Elisabeth also work there.
Wolfgang Grupp does not own a computer.
He much prefers to have his e-mails printed out.
The company patriarch likes to keep an eye on his employees, which is why his desk points to them.
So he could see if someone was on the phone and he could call, he explained.
Being needed and important is a form of recognition for the employees - and that only succeeds in presence.
Working from home could become crucial for the future direction of Trigema
It remains to be seen whether Grupp's children, one of whom will one day succeed Trigema, rate the topic of working from home more positively than their 80-year-old father.
At 30 and 32, Bonita and Wolfgang Grupp Junior may be more interested in aligning the company so that it is also attractive to young applicants.
A home office option should play a significant role in this.
