In the return-to-work battle a surprising new player has entered the arena: Martha Stewart.
The media mogul and 81-year-old Sports Illustrated star said she simply doesn’t understand how hybrid workers can get all their tasks done by going into the office three days a week.
She fears that if remote or hybrid work continues then America will suffer—criticizing European counterparts who have a more flexible work-life balance.
In an interview with Footwear News, the lifestyle expert said, “You can’t possibly get everything done working three days a week in the office and two days remotely.
“Look at the success of France with their stupid…you know, off for August, blah blah blah. That’s not a very thriving country,” she said, continuing: “Should America go down the drain because people don’t want to go back to work?”
The statement that the entire French nation takes a month off work in August is not entirely true, with many shops and attractions remaining open throughout summer, particularly in tourist destinations.
French people do tend to take some of their holiday in July or August—employees are entitled to 30 days of annual leave to use across the year—and even have names for those who take time in July—the juilletistes—or August—the aoûtiens.
Stewart—formerly a stockbroker—added she was on a “rampage” to get people across the U.S. back to the office.
It’s not the first time Stewart has made her strong opinions on work known.
In 2021, she shared an anecdote with Harper’s Bazaar about calling an employee on a Sunday who told her they couldn’t talk because they were in the bath.
The founder of Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia said the interaction made it clear she “couldn’t work” with the individual, but said she would have made allowances if the employee had been unable to speak on a Sunday for religious reasons.
“If you can’t talk on a Sunday and you take umbrage that I’m calling you on a Sunday—you know, if you are a terribly religious person, I take that into consideration,” Stewart—who also spent five months in prison on multiple felony charges—told the magazine. “But I knew this guy was not a terribly religious person. It’s exciting! Business is exciting. I want people to feel that way about business.”
A “horrific” calendar
Other CEOs mandating their workers return to the office have been criticized for not coming back themselves—but Stewart wants to practice what she preaches.
“I haven’t stopped at all. You should see my calendar. It’s horrific,” she said.
In the past year Stewart has launched a podcast, expanded her CBD business, struck a deal with Skechers, launched a new immersive retail experience with Amazon, and created three new TV shows with Roku.
She worked five days a week in lockdown, even filming a TV show from her home in Bedford, N.Y., the self-proclaimed self-made billionaire revealed.
“I was brought up to do what I want to do when I want to do it as well as I can do it,” Stewart added. “Something I always say is to be curious and keep learning something new every day.”
She added that now is the time for women to “step it up,” explaining: “Women are afraid. They lived through the pandemic. They’ve lived through the #MeToo movement, which made a lot of them uncomfortable. But it also empowered women to speak out.”
Stewart, who counts rapper Snoop Dogg among her friends and colleagues, has also been open about the fact that a work-life balance has eluded her.
Balancing a successful career and home life is one of the “most difficult things to do,” Steward told CNN in 2018.
“That balance, which is so elusive to most of us, didn’t work for me. I thought, ‘Oh I can do it and I can do all of that’—I had to sacrifice a marriage because of the lure of the great job. But I don’t regret it at all because what I’ve done is something bigger and better than just one marriage probably.
“It’s impossible for most of us to get that balance,” she said.
