WORK FROM HOME will not die, it will however be Re-Branded!

I just read a great article by Danny Crichton, a story that really struck a nerve with me, and many others I am told.

WARNING: I will be later mentioning my software and what we are doing to help with this shift to a new WORK FROM HOME paradigm!

Allow me to paraphrase my learnings here and add some thoughts.

Understandably, the mandatory Work From Home situation that many of us find ourselves in is not ideal. Schools are closed, kids are home, the internet is wonky since everyone else is home, the dog sitter isn’t coming and there are no cafés to find peace. It’s not surprising then that there is something of popular revulsion and revolt to the whole WFH notion.

Let's be honest “Work From Home” is just bad branding, precisely because it fails to communicate the fundamental freedom that comes with these new policies.

It’s not about further imprisoning us in our homes — it’s about empowering us to think and work exactly where we are personally most productive.

The whole point of the flexibility that “Work From Home” provides is precisely that you can WORK from ANYWHERE.

It may be your home — but it may as well be a café, the hospital where a sick family member is located, a beach, a friend’s house, a hotel, your mate's garden shed aka man cave.

The point of flexibility here is to untether our schedules and the stress associated with them and allow our work to happen where we want it to.

Many of us will choose to work from home, and many of us will habitually return to the same working environment each day even if it isn’t our home.

That’s fine.

Flexibility doesn’t mean constantly changing everything up — it means we can change things when we want and need to.

One big question that has loomed over “Work From Home” policies is this: What if I like my office and the social life of meeting with colleagues?

Chris mentions "we see the narrowness of the language. “Work From Anywhere” literally means anywhere, including the very office we would normally commute to.

Flexibility means adapting our schedules and our locations for the kinds of knowledge work we are trying to do.

In short, “Work From Anywhere” perfectly encapsulates the freedom and dynamism our schedules deserve and is why we went to work with a tool to make this even easier, Kopus, creates a workspace in anyplace. I did warn you, stop tutting.

We want to make it easy to find, book, pay, and work at any place that feels to you like a "home" office.

In truth, we don't think this will be hard. Most people are doing it or have done it, I mean who has not worked out of a Starbucks or a library ( do they have another reason to be in one) at a restaurant while waiting for our dates to arrive...wait...is that just me?

We think the hard part will be explaining to companies how Work From Anywhere can still create culture, which is way more than the binary of “in office” or “at home.”

• This is a great piece of content from Forbes, on creating culture, they believe "Culture and Collaboration Will Suffer: but that you can create impromptu engagements like that made by Collin Waldoch. Originally from the Chicagoland area, Waldoch is a self-professed Jeopardy addict - and the founder of Watercooler Trivia. His clients are companies like Novartis, Uber, Medtronics and Bain - organizations that are deliberate about informal interaction in a virtual world. Just like the game you love at the local pub, Waldoch uses trivia to foster healthy competition and fun online. His company’s customized online game features industry-specific questions that can be tailored to different geographies (don’t want any US-based questions? Want to dive deep into the automotive industry? Love sports but hate fine arts? No problem - but get ready to be challenged!) He’s created over 4,000 customized trivia questions, with no signs of stopping. “We’re helping remote workers to create organic conversations, build teams and escape online monotony,” he says.

But I digress, lets get back to the point ??many companies already have expense policies that allow employees to buy key equipment for their homes (a monitor, bringing a computer home, etc.) as well as subsidizing home internet access.

But in Work From Anywhere, should companies subsidize a Kopus purchase, to use any space as a workplace, an unlimited coffee purchase, or the networking event that occurs at the venue chosen by the employee at a nearby hotel or bar?

Should the company underwrite employees travel to different cities or places to freshen themselves up with new experiences? Will there be a per diem? How should companies offer mechanisms for distant employees to connect in real life?

??SPOILER ALERT ??:

Much of the discussion among companies today is about the C-word.

COST.

Offices are expensive. Office space per employee has declined over the past five decades under cost pressure, which is one reason for the forced usage of open offices compared to offices with doors that close.

There is more collaboration — and nice savings to the bottom line.

Work From Anywhere may or may not save a company any money whatsoever.

What was once large office complexes maybe a handful of smaller venues, with travel and food budgets that will more than make up for any real estate cost savings?

This is more a question for experts like Caleb Parker of Bold or Louisa Dickinson from LMRE ?

That said, here are some facts we do know.

The one thing I am sure of is that the new workplace flexibility is not about saving money, nor long-term social distancing or saving on carbon emissions, it’s an investment in employee well-being, productivity, and ultimately, profitability while helping small businesses in local communities.

That's why I am excited about WORK FROM HOME> WORK FROM ANYWHERE