Shark Tank's Kevin O'Leary tells Bill Maher workers are 'never coming back' to the office, and that's 'okay'

A record number of Americans quit their jobs in September, in the latest data point of the Great Resignation, and Shark Tank cohost and venture capitalist Kevin O'Leary told Bill Maher on Friday's Real Time that the remaining workers who are staying put have decided working from home is the new normal.
Based on the response from his companies, "they're never coming back," O'Leary said. "Well, doesn't that tell you something about how much they must have f--king hated the office to begin with?" Maher asked. O'Leary offered a more positive explanation.
"They have proven to everybody all around the world that they can use technology to do their jobs successfully and creatively, functionally, productively, and they want to stay at home, and raise their kids, take care of their elderly parents," O'Leary said. "And in fact if you say to them, 'You have to come back to the office, that's our new mandate,' they'll say, 'Nah, I'm just gonna quit and work somewhere else.' So we thought it was 15 percent, we have a sample size of about 10,000 people in our supply chain plus our companies," he said, and it isn't just cubicle workers, "it's everybody. They don't want to come back. And so we have to learn to live this way, and I'm okay with it. It works. I find it really interesting."
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.
-
The best shows to see at Edinburgh Fringe 2025
The Week Recommends The world's biggest arts festival is back with an incredible line-up
-
Wonsan-Kalma: North Korea's new 'mammoth' beach resort
Under the Radar Pyongyang wants to boost tourism but there won't be many foreign visitors to Kim Jong Un's 'pet project'
-
The 5 best TV reboots of all time
The Week Recommends Finding an entirely new cast to play beloved characters is harder than it looks
-
Dollar faces historic slump as stocks hit new high
Speed Read While stocks have recovered post-Trump tariffs, the dollar has weakened more than 10% this year
-
Higher toy prices from Trump's tariffs have arrived
In the Spotlight Three out of four toy products in the US come from China
-
Economists fear US inflation data less reliable
speed read The Labor Department is collecting less data for its consumer price index due to staffing shortages
-
'Wrench attacks' are targeting wealthy crypto moguls
The Explainer The attacks are named for physical coercion that can be used to gain crypto passwords
-
Trump is trying to jump-start US manufacturing. Is it worth it?
Today's Big Question The jobs are good. The workers may not be there.
-
Crypto firm Coinbase hacked, faces SEC scrutiny
Speed Read The Securities and Exchange Commission has also been investigating whether Coinbase misstated its user numbers in past disclosures
-
Starbucks baristas strike over dress code
speed read The new uniform 'puts the burden on baristas' to buy new clothes, said a Starbucks Workers United union delegate
-
The end of WeightWatchers?
Talking Point The diet brand has filed for bankruptcy in the US as it struggles to survive in era of weight-loss jabs