Vijaye Raji, the CEO of Statsig, implemented an in-office policy when the startup was founded in 2021. As a former big-tech executive turned startup CEO, Raji supports Andy Jassy’s desire to have employees in the office five days a week, citing the competitive advantage it can provide in terms of moving fast and making faster decisions. Unlike Jassy, Raji and his team at Statsig have always been in-person, believing that the advantages of in-person work for collaboration and company culture surpass those of a hybrid approach.
Raji explains that having employees in the office three days a week can lead to the need for constant monitoring and policing of attendance, which can deviate from the culture of autonomy and trust that many tech companies have built. He notes that the hybrid model does not always result in high attendance rates, with less than 100% of people showing up on designated in-office days. In contrast, being in-person all the time has allowed Statsig to move quickly and make faster decisions by removing friction and overhead associated with remote or hybrid work.
While Jassy wants Amazon to operate like a startup with streamlined decision-making and fewer layers of bureaucracy, Raji and Statsig have implemented an in-person policy from the start. The company has 97 employees based in Bellevue, Washington, and the expectation has always been for employees to be in the office five days a week. Although there is flexibility for personal issues, such as a flooded basement or furniture delivery, the baseline expectation is clear – employees are expected to be in the office five days a week.
Raji acknowledges that an in-office policy is not without its trade-offs, especially when it comes to recruiting. It can be challenging when prospective employees live in another state or far enough away to make a daily commute untenable. Despite the trend towards remote or hybrid work in the tech industry, Raji believes that it might be more important for startups to work in-person by default, especially when forming their culture. Larger companies with established cultures may have the advantage of making hybrid or remote work more feasible.
Only 3% of tech companies with 500 employees or fewer are operating full-time in the office, according to Flex Index. However, Raji believes that being in-person by default can help startups compete and move quickly. While Jassy’s decision to have Amazon operate like a startup includes having employees in the office five days a week, Raji emphasizes the importance of removing friction to enable companies to act like startups effectively. In conclusion, Raji and Statsig’s choice to be in-person has allowed them to outcompete competitors by moving quickly, making faster decisions, and building a strong company culture from the start.
