Financial personality Dave Ramsey isn't mincing words about remote work: he thinks it's a failed experiment, and he's sticking with the old-fashioned approach of having actual people in an actual building.

Speaking on "The Ramsey Show" about the Great Resignation—that massive wave of Americans quitting their jobs to find better opportunities or simply retire—Ramsey argued that companies have tested the work-from-home model extensively, and the verdict is in. It doesn't work.

"The worker is now demanding that they work from home," Ramsey said. "That's not going to work. It's not going to work. It hasn't worked. All of the data is in. And work from home doesn't equal work getting done. We're seeing major companies that thought they were going to go that way swinging back now again."

Ramsey acknowledged he's taken heat for his position. At his company, Ramsey Solutions, remote work simply isn't an option.

"We work from here with human beings in the building where we can see each other," he said.

The Pandemic Reset

Ramsey traced the Great Resignation back to a fundamental shift triggered by COVID-19. The pandemic gave millions of workers a stark reminder that life is finite, and maybe—just maybe—they shouldn't spend it in jobs that undervalue their contributions or underpay their efforts.

Companies without soul, as Ramsey puts it, found themselves in trouble. Workers gravitated toward organizations where they felt their work actually mattered.

"If you're one of these companies with no soul, people aren't going to come," Ramsey said. "You're going to end up with a labor shortage. Because of the pandemic, they said life's too short. They're not going to go to work for a company where life's too short. Again."

Not Everyone Makes the Cut

Ramsey believes his company stands to benefit from this trend precisely because it prioritizes talented, driven individuals. But there's a catch: if you're looking for a cushy gig where your degree does the talking, you're out of luck.

"You won't make it through the interview process, and if you did, you won't fit in," Ramsey said. "This is how we do things, and not everybody needs to be a we. If you think having a degree in X automatically gives you a talent we should just pay for, nope, it's not going to happen."

Despite his tough stance on remote work, Ramsey is optimistic about the Great Resignation's economic impact. His theory is straightforward: when unhappy workers leave dead-end jobs for positions where they're genuinely motivated, overall productivity increases. Better matches between workers and employers should boost economic output.

As evidence, he pointed to his company's experience recruiting computer programmers after the pandemic. They weren't lured by work-from-home perks. Instead, they came for balanced hours and work that felt meaningful.

"When they woke up during the pandemic, they didn't wake up thinking, 'I hate my job,'" Ramsey said. "They woke up realizing a lot of people need their help, and they know that if they're in this company coding, it is going to make a difference."

So there you have it: Ramsey's bet is that purpose beats pajamas, at least when it comes to attracting top talent. Whether the broader market agrees remains an open question, but he's clearly committed to his in-person approach.