CEO’s apology over ‘threatening’ op-ed raises questions over future of working from home

Cathy Merrill apologised to DC-based magazine staff after they refused to contribute to the website for a day, writes Graeme Massie

As more people are vaccinated, there are questions about what a post-pandemic world will look like for office workers (Getty Images/iStockphoto)

The Washingtonian staff backlash illustrates the challenge that employers face of convincing workers of returning to their offices after more than year of operating from home.

Editorial staff at the DC-based magazine refused to publish online on Friday, the day after the chief executive wrote a controversial op-ed about the future of remote work.

In the opinion piece for The Washington Post, Cathy Merrill, the CEO of Washington Media, angered her own staff when she wrote about her concerns about “the unfortunately common office worker who wants to continue working at home and just go into the office on occasion.”