Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey is trying a unique strategy to get remote workers to return downtown: insulting them.
“I don’t know if you saw this study the other day,” Frey told an audience of 1,000 at Minneapolis Downtown Council’s annual meeting on Wednesday. “What this study clearly showed … is that when people who have the ability to come downtown to an office don’t — when they stay home sitting on their couch, with their nasty cat blanket, diddling on their laptop — if they do that for a few months, you become a loser!”
The comment was a “complete joke” and the study was made-up, the Minneapolis mayor’s office told Fortune, but there are serious facts to back up Frey’s worry about the impact of remote work on Minneapolis’ downtown economy.
My guy, I work with a 67 year old woman at a factory working 12 hours 4 days in a row plus additional overtime every few weeks. There are all also multiple people with physical disabilities that work there. Not every physical disability prevents you from working a physical job. In fact, I can think of several jobs that someone in a wheelchair could do on the floor with no problem.
I’m not sure why exploitation of seniors is a flex but ok.
She’s there by choice, she said she’s just waiting until her birthday to retire. She’s an immigrant from Vietnam, they have a much different cultural mindset. She will barely let you help her with her work.