Nike boss says Matildas’ success show importance of workers being in the office

The success of the Matildas highlights a number of arguments against working from home, according to the local boss of Nike.

The success of the Matildas highlights a number of arguments against working from home, according to the local boss of Nike.

Ashley Reade, the sportswear giant’s Pacific vice president and general manager, told The Australian Financial Review on Wednesday that business leaders could learn from the Matildas — which Nike sponsors.

“If you can grow up playing a sport, particularly a team sport, you get to understand a bit about what it means to be part of a team, your role in a team and the encouragement, connection and recognition you experience,” he said.

“You go through the lows and the highs together. That stands you in good stead for being part of a team in a business. Sport and business are beautifully intertwined that way.”

Mr Reade said like in a sports game, “there are so many things during a day that can happen which can reprioritise your day”.

Nike’s Pacific vice president and general manager, Ashley Reade. Picture: LinkedIn

Nike, like many other companies embracing hybrid working while trying to bring staff back in person, has set a Tuesday to Thursday office week. “Globally and locally we’ve said working from home is an option on Monday and Friday,” Mr Reade said.

“We still think we’re better together, so we want to make sure we’ve got that ‘locker time’, Tuesday to Thursday. It’s really hard to build culture if you don’t have consistency of connection. It just is. We want to make sure we are in there for the moments that matter and the energy that is created.”

He added, “Culture is created by inclusion and by connection. People need to be inspired by the strategy and a north star.”

Mr Reade said much of his morning was spent walking around and connecting with staff.

The Matildas suffered a heartbreaking 3-1 loss to England on Wednesday. Picture: FIFA via Getty Images

“That first 30 minutes when you’re in, having those connection points, having a conversation and feeling the pulse of the business and recognising people who have done great things is a great way to connect with your team,” he said.

The Matildas suffered a heartbreaking 3-1 semi-final loss to England’s Lionesses at Stadium Australia in Sydney on Wednesday night.

But Mr Reade said regardless of the outcome, the national team’s inspiring run at the FIFA Women’s World Cup would be a “catalysing time for women’s sport and culture”.

Some on social media were not convinced by Mr Reade’s arguments.

“Given it’s a home World Cup, and they are doing so well, by the same logic, I guess it also shows the benefits of working where you are most comfortable,” one Facebook user commented. “You see, we can all spin things to suit our argument.”

Sam Kerr reacts after a missed chance during the semi-final. Picture: Brendon Thorne/Getty Images

Another said, “Who’s gonna tell this guy they’re a football team that need to be in the same place to play football?”

Major global firms such as Meta and Google, as well as large Australian companies including CommBank, are mandating staff return to the office at least a few days per week.

In some cases efforts to wind back Covid-era work-from-home policies have sparked pushback from employees and heated debate online.

Last month, the co-founder of instant messaging platform Slack, Cal Henderson, said young workers in certain industries may find it “harder to be successful” if they don’t spend face-to-face time in the office learning from senior colleagues.

That echoed a recent warning from IBM’s global chief executive Arvind Krishna to the company’s 260,000 staff that while he was not ordering them back to the office yet, those who continued to work remotely would struggle to get promoted.

New York University marketing professor Scott Galloway has previously warned young people about the perils of staying home. “You should never be at home,” he told The Wall Street Journal’s CEO Council Summit in May.

“That’s what I tell young people. Home is for seven hours of sleep and that’s it. The amount of time you spend at home is inversely correlated to your success professionally and romantically. You need to be out of the house.”