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🇦🇹 Austria /Culture & Society

HR chief Birgit Moser-Kadlac: Too much remote work harms company culture

From Die Presse · () German

Translated from German and summarized by DistantNews. Read the original for the full story.

At a glance

Interview Named sources Context piece
  • Birgit Moser-Kadlac says employees can perform well from anywhere, but daily home working risks weakening shared company culture.
  • She oversees human resources for about 500 employees at ProSiebenSat.1 PULS 4 and Joyn Austria.
  • Drawing on her own experience of an unexpected early-career dismissal, she compares recruitment to a first date and exit interviews to “let’s stay friends” meetings.

Birgit Moser-Kadlac supports flexibility at work, but not the idea of staying home every day. The HR chief at ProSiebenSat.1 PULS 4 and Joyn Austria says remote work can function well for individuals while still damaging the culture built through shared experiences.

“If an employee works well, they work well anywhere, regardless of where they sit. It is a matter of trust. However, I fear that this is disrupting the culture. It is different when we experience successes together,” she said.

If an employee works well, they work well anywhere, regardless of where they sit. It is a matter of trust. However, I fear that this is disrupting the culture. It is different when we experience successes together.

· Birgit Moser-KadlacShe explained why she supports flexibility but worries about fully remote work.

Moser-Kadlac is responsible for the company’s roughly 500 employees. She believes the same collective approach should apply when things go wrong. Colleagues should support one another through failures and setbacks, not share only the successful moments.

Her view of working life is shaped partly by a crisis early in her career. After joining Constantin Film in 2004, which she describes as her “absolute dream job,” she was unexpectedly dismissed a few months later. “For me, that was the absolute crisis,” she said. Contacts she had made in the industry helped her recover. A former colleague contacted her after the dismissal and brought her into the marketing department of a private broadcaster, where she has remained in the industry.

For me, that was the absolute crisis.

· Birgit Moser-KadlacShe recalled being unexpectedly dismissed early in her career.

Moser-Kadlac compares professional relationships with romantic ones. Both require dialogue, transparency and attention to how the other side is doing. Neither side can give 100 percent all the time. An employee may be able to give only 70 or 80 percent, while a company cannot always provide everything its staff needs.

“Crises, changes and disappointments are part of it,” she said. “The important thing is to keep sight of the question: How is the other person doing?” In her terminology, recruiting is the first date, while exit talks are the “let’s stay friends” meetings.

Crises, changes and disappointments are part of it. The important thing is to keep sight of the question: How is the other person doing?

· Birgit Moser-KadlacShe described the communication needed to manage workplace relationships.
About this summary

Originally published by Die Presse in German. Translated, summarized, and contextualized automatically by DistantNews, with a note on how the source frames the story. Not individually reviewed before publishing. How this works.

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