Zoom CEO says Zoom meetings hinder innovation and debate, wants employees back in the office

The irony is not lost on us.

CEO of Zoom Eric Yuan — Victor J. Blue/Bloomberg/Getty Images

Zoom, the videoconferencing platform that profited substantially from remote work during the pandemic, is now asking employees to return to the office. Its CEO, Eric Yuan, claims Zoom meetings don’t let people build trust or be innovative.

Employees who live within 50 miles of a Zoom office will have to work in the nearest office at least two days a week. According to reports from Insider, the comments were made during an all-hands employee meeting earlier this month, where Yuan referred to employees as Zoomies.

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“In our early days, we all knew each other,” Yuan said. “Over the past several years, we’ve hired so many new ‘Zoomies’ that it’s really hard to build trust.”

Yuan explained that trust is essential “for everything,” and he finds it hard to build not only that but also innovation and debates over Zoom.

“Quite often, you come up with great ideas, but when we are all on Zoom, it’s really hard,” Yuan said, according to Insider. “We cannot have a great conversation. We cannot debate each other well because everyone tends to be very friendly when you join a Zoom call.”

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The new return-to-office policy will be flexible, as Yuan explained that any employees who have issues with it can request exceptions with the heads of their departments.

Zoom became the most popular videoconferencing program when lockdowns during the pandemic outbreak in 2020 sent many people home to work and do schooling remotely.

Zoom hasn’t responded to ZDNET”s request for comment.