Irony Alert: Zoom Orders Workers Back to the Office

Zoom let millions of people flee the office and work remotely during the pandemic, and profited greatly. Now the company that enabled that mass exodus to working in pajamas is pulling a bit of an ironic twist: It's ordering its workers to put on pants and get back into the office. As CNN reports, the company is recalling employees who live near a brick-and-mortar location for a "set number of days" per week in what it's calling a "hybrid approach." The Los Angeles Times reports that the number is two days a week.

"As a company, we are in a better position to use our own technologies, continue to innovate, and support our global customers," said the company in a statement. "We'll continue to leverage the entire Zoom platform to keep our employees and dispersed teams connected and working efficiently." Insider has a dramatic headline on the move, declaring that "Remote Work Is Dead."

For Zoom, as much as a global pandemic gave to its bottom line, the return to normalcy has taken away from it, with the Times noting that while Zoom's stock quintupled between March and October 2020, it has now reverted back to pre-COVID norms. In a move to remain relevant in the post-pandemic world, Zoom is expanding its suite of business tools, and tinkering around with artificial intelligence. (Not everybody was a fan of remote work.)