The pandemic has changed the way we travelled, socialised and worked. Work from home (WFH) -- necessitated by the pandemic -- soon found many supporters. Now that the world has begun to open up after a series of lockdowns, the biggest debate raging at the moment is whether to continue WFH and hybrid models of working or call the employees back to the office.

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Eric Schmidt, former CEO at Google, has firmly positioned himself in the latter camp. “It’s important that these people be at the office, in my view,” Schmidt said to CNBC. “I’m a traditionalist,” added Schmidt.

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His statements come at a time when Google has finally started to bring its employees back to offices. The company had to delay office return multiple times as subsequent waves of the pandemic caused the company to back off from full-office reopening.

Schmidt, who helmed Google between 2001 and 2011, attributes his success in turning Google into the tech behemoth to his time spent in the office.

“We spent decades having these conversations about people being close together ... the discussion at the coffee table and going to coffee,” Schmidt says. “Remember all of that? Was that all wrong?”

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For companies like Google that hire young employees, working from office has several benefits, according to Schmidt. Conversations about professionalism, meeting etiquette, presentation skills, workplace politics and dealing with competitors can rarely happen virtually, he said.

“An awful lot of college students who were behaving as though the workplace (at Google) was like college,” he said. “And I used to say to them, ‘This is not college. This is a professional thing, you can’t do that. And, or, it might be illegal. So please stop, now.’”

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Schmidt also added that for younger employees between the ages of 25 and 35, the time spent at the office also allows them to figure out their own management styles.

“In terms of their age, that’s when they learn,” he said. “If you miss out

Also read: Flexibility brings out best in people, says Google CEO Sundar Pichai on the future of work

But Schmidt does have a nuanced take on the matter. He said those with specialised roles which don’t necessarily require communication with others, those who don’t like the social nature of the office, and those who aren’t fond of spending hours in long commutes, may not benefit from coming to the office.

(Edited by : Shoma Bhattacharjee)