The media is getting return to office wrong again
A few predictions on what will actually happen after talking to 3,000+ companies over the last 2 years about remote work
?? The Great Reset: It's never been the great resignation?
Workers aren't choosing not to work: they are choosing not to work for companies that won't let them have a higher quality of life
It's not a future of work evolution: it's a quality of life revolution
?? Company Death: Remote work is the perk wanted by workers globally. This will only increase. Refusal to give their team the amount of remote work they want will begin to kill companies in 2022
Remote-first companies will eventually replace every office-first company
?? Office Space: leases have not being renewed and even if companies want workers back in the office a lot of them no longer have space for a large number of their team
?I've consistently heard companies having space for less than 30% of team
??City Flight: workers will continue to leave the cities their offices are located in
?Many will end up quitting their jobs if their companies try to force them back to the office
?? Rural Living: many people, particularly those with families, will move to have more space, bigger homes
‘Second-tier cities’ will do very well as people move back to the areas they are from, closer to family and friends
?? Hybrid Conflict: what companies think hybrid work is and what workers think it is are two different things
Workers think it means being able to work remotely whenever they want
?Companies think it means telling workers when they must attend
?Huge resentment will happen
?? Global Hiring: almost every company will begin expanding the areas they hire in
?From a single city, the whole state, across the country, in the same timezone, then finally anywhere globally
?We are still very early in this process
??? Remote Replication: If you are a successful office-first company a remote competitor if coming for you. Have none? Expect them
?Used to be your margin is my opportunity. Now it's your office is my opportunity
?In a knowledge economy, most talented company wins
??? Micro Coworking: spaces close to home will rise rapidly for people who don’t want to or can’t WFH
?This will be a home on every street, kitted out with the right furniture, great coffee, and on demand fitness equipment
?? Remote Experience: the best companies in the world will care about their people the most
?Many will start to provide all tools and equipment workers need to be as safe and comfortable at home as in an office
?Some will provide perks
?Asynchronous Work: Offices are instantaneous gratification distraction factories where synchronous work makes it impossible to get stuff done
?Tools that enable asynchronous work are the most important thing globally remote teams need. A lot of startups will try to tackle this
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?? Remote Communities: workers living closer to other friends, family, or people with similar hobbies who all work remotely
?Shared childcare, living closer to the things that make them happiest, all while continuing to do great work
?? Remote Childcare: Helping remote working parents by helping them access on-demand childcare will be something a lot of companies focus on
This is the biggest remote working problem the fewest people are talking about
? Output focus: time will be replaced as the main KPI for judging performance by productivity and output?
Great workers will be the ones who deliver what they promise consistently
Advancement decisions will be decided by capability rather than who you drink beer with after work
?? Remote Laws: A lot teams are beginning to operate under the assumption that the choice to work remotely will become a legal right
This will give workers the option to choose where they work, and many companies are acting before they are forced
??? Company Resorts: Many companies are thinking about creating "resorts" where work happens in person
Expect these to be built in incredible locations and focussed on providing the best on-site experience possible
?? Diversity and inclusion: The future of work is more diverse, inclusive, & accessible
It shouldn't matter if you're a single parent, caring for someone else, or you have a health condition or impairment that makes the office impossible
Remote must work for everyone
?? Private Equity: the hottest trend of the next decade for private equity will see them purchase companies, make them remote-first
The cost saving in real-estate at scale are eye-watering?
The productivity gains will be the final nail in the coffin for the office
?? Health & Wellbeing: A lack of commute will give workers the equivalent of 25 extra days a year to do the things that make them happiest
Workers will have freedom to organize things more freely in their day
Great companies will actively help their people do this
?? Country Competition: small nations will lean in to incentivising relocation even more heavily
The most successful will focus on targeting workers at different ages and period of their life
Those with great weather, culture, educational systems will dominate
?? Remote Infrastructure: The focus on what's hot won't change any time soon
There is still a missing half of remote work that's neglected because it's difficult, boring, and unsexy?
It will be the most critical. Until that's solved remote teams won't scale globally easily
Manager-Oracle Fusion HCM Cloud@PwC|11+ years & counting on Techno-functional terrain| Seeking Knowledge creates Courage.
1 年This is fantastic!! A lot of yellow journalism has been happening trying to glorify RTO as if working in office was some utopian experience!! The truth is there are shrewd businesses pulling strings that need people to get back to unhealthy eating, erratic commute, unnecessary spending, screwed up living in polluted condition; so that businesses can push their third class products at premium rates. Why, I'm sure a lot of anti-remote c-suite crusaders? and their privileged kids have substantial investments in these businesses! That is how these fake philanthropists are born - running with the hare and hunting with the hounds!!?
AlgoSpace CEO | Ex-CMO | Podcast Host | Led innovation at 2 startups. I leverage these experiences to foster growth now at AlgoSpace, shaping the future of AlgoTrading. Let's connect!
2 年Chris, thanks for sharing!
Food system and community health advocate
2 年Thought you would appreciate this Alex West Steinman and Erinn Farrell. I can think of a couple people who are well positioned to be at the forefront of the convo about the future of work :)
Workplace Innovation | Empowering work from anywhere | Speaker | Author | Workfluencer
2 年A very comprehensive list... and I agree in most of your points. Perhaps the only one I disagree is the 'death of the office' - although the office as we know it will definitely disappear – rather than an evolution on our understanding of the workplace. Years ago, a bunch of companies started to think about the future of the office and of course one of the main drivers was the idea of people not being forced to come every day on a determined schedule was a key factor. When people have a choice, the workplace becomes something much more interesting. A few keys here: No more conceived based on its capacity, rather than being planned and designed for a better experience. We’ve been squeezing people in offices for years (reducing sqft per person consistently). The workplace starts competing with home and third spaces, therefore it needs to go above and beyond in design, comfort, technology, service and amenities. Those who understand that will create workplaces to thrive. Love the idea of "company resorts".
Lawyer | CEO of Bowd | Democracy Activist
2 年Nailed it, as always Chris Herd.