Dropbox CEO: RTO Efforts Can Be 'Dumb' and 'Unproductive' - Business Insider


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Dropbox CEO's Stance on Return-to-Office

Dropbox CEO Drew Houston expressed his disapproval of mandatory return-to-office (RTO) policies, likening them to obsolete practices like compelling people back to malls and movie theaters. He argued that such policies are unproductive and unnecessary, especially when work can be effectively performed remotely.

Critique of RTO Policies

Houston emphasized that simply replicating office activities on virtual platforms is inefficient. He believes there's a superior approach, avoiding the forced commute and Zoom meetings that could be just as effective from home.

Dropbox's Remote-First Approach

Dropbox adopted a "virtual-first" work policy in 2020, transitioning to a 90/10 model the following year. This allows employees to work remotely 90% of the year with occasional in-person off-sites.

Houston's Perspective on Remote Work

Houston has previously championed remote work, asserting that it provides companies with the tools to shape the future of work. He believes that success depends on fostering trust and treating employees as responsible adults, prioritizing trust over surveillance.

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2025-06-06T09:09:01Z

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  • Dropbox CEO Drew Houston says RTO is like trying to get people back into malls and movie theaters.
  • "We can be a lot less dumb than forcing people back into a car three days a week," he said on a Fortune podcast.
  • "It's just a different world now," he said. Dropbox in 2020 introduced a "virtual first" work policy.
Forcing workers back to the office for most of the workweek is pretty futile if you ask Drew Houston.Houston, the CEO of Dropbox, equated office-first working arrangements to other relics of a pre-pandemic era in an episode of Fortune's "Leadership Next" podcast released Wednesday."Forcing people back to the office is probably gonna be like trying to force people back into malls and movie theaters," he said. "Nothing wrong with the movie theater, but it's just a different world now."Houston said a return to the office doesn't make sense when you're doing the same work you could do virtually."It is unproductive if you just sort of try to photocopy what you're doing in the office onto Zoom," he said. "We don't have to do thisโ€”we can be a lot less dumb than forcing people back into a car three days a week or whatever, to literally be back on the same Zoom meeting they would have been at home. There's a better way to do this."At a time when many of Dropbox's tech peers have mandated a return to office in some form, the company remains optimistic that it can accomplish just as much remotely.Dropbox announced in 2020 it was adopting a "virtual first" approach to work, where remote work outside of the office would be employees' primary working arrangement. The next year, the company began following a 90/10 rule in which employees work remotely 90% of the year and attend a handful of off-sites in-person during the remaining 10% of the year.Houston previously said remote work has given companies "the keys that unlock this whole future of work.""You need a different social contract and to let go of control. But if you trust people and treat them like adults, they'll behave like adults. Trust over surveillance," he told Fortune in 2023.

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