Remote Work or Bust: Why Going Back to the Office will Kill Companies Rapidly
Remote work is the smartest strategic decision any office-based company can ever make.
Those who return to the office out of fear will be replaced by companies that don't. The most talented people I know personally ALL plan to work remotely at some point this decade. The most innovative companies I know personally ALL plan to hire remotely at some point this decade. The result is economic suicide by companies that refuse to evolve.
Remote work is so desirable for workers because it improves their quality of life so much. They no longer have to waste 480 hours a year sitting in a pollution emitting steel box commuting to an office, to work on technology designed to be used anywhere. They can live wherever they want, increasing their disposable income, empowering them with flexibility, trust, and autonomy which will let them do the best work they've ever done.
Companies benefit even more
Remote working expands your access to talent globally; hire the best person in every role rather than the best person you can afford around a 30-mile radius of their office. They cut massive real-estate costs ($20-50m per 1,000 workers who are working remote full-time).
This is a huge decision with major implications. In my position, I speak to companies across the entire spectrum. From the earliest startups, to publicly listed tech companies, through to the largest enterprises on the planet. Everyone tells me the same thing: we'll be more remote.
We sit in a unique position because our product help them make the transition to remote. Companies will be even more remote than they are sharing publicly. There is a competitive advantage to not sharing exactly how remote you will be. Companies know this enables them to not only be far more cost-efficient but far more talented and diverse. Going remote achieves that while making workers happier and increasing loyalty. It's the rare triple win.
Hybrid seems appealing but it will never be successful
It dilutes the benefits of remote working too much to make it viable.
Workers still have to live close enough to the office to get there regularly being a huge issue. Another is that as workers go remote they want to be more remote. This means the office that you are only paying for 50% of the time is used less and less. As workers get to work remotely they want to do it more frequently not let. What becomes far more important is getting the right cadence for physical meetups.
It's not 2 or 3 times a week. It's likely 2 or 3 times a quarter.
Go Officeless
We built FirstbaseHQ.com to make this effortless.
We help companies supply, finance and manage all the physical equipment remote workers need to do great work at home instantly.