I&
#39;ve spoken to 2,000+ companies over the last 12 months about their plans for remote work going forward
Here are a few things I&
#39;ve learned
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https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="đ˘" title="BĂźrogebäude" aria-label="Emoji: BĂźrogebäude"> HQâs are finished: companies will cut their commercial office space by 50-70%
The will allow every worker to work from home 2-4 days a week, and come into the office 1-2 days a week
https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="đ" title="Europa-Afrika auf dem Globus" aria-label="Emoji: Europa-Afrika auf dem Globus"> Fully distributed: ~30% of the companies we talk to are getting rid of the office entirely and going remote-first
Companies doing this have seen their workers decentralize rapidly, leaving expensive cities to be closer to family
https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="â" title="MittelgroĂer Stern" aria-label="Emoji: MittelgroĂer Stern"> Access talent: The first reason they are going remote-first is simple â it lets them hire more talented people
Rather than hiring the best person in a 30-mile radius of the office, they can hire the best person in the world for every role
https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="đ°" title="Geldsack" aria-label="Emoji: Geldsack"> Cut costs: The second reason they are going remote-first is because it lets them be far more cost-efficient
Rather than spending $20,000 / worker / year on office space they can provide the best remote setup on the planet for $2,000 / worker / year
https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="đ" title="Tabelle mit Aufwärtstrend" aria-label="Emoji: Tabelle mit Aufwärtstrend"> Remote burnout: The productivity inside the companies weâve spoken to has gone through the roof
Their biggest concern is that workers burnout because they are working too hard
They are actively exploring ways to combat this
https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="âď¸" title="Flugzeug" aria-label="Emoji: Flugzeug"> Remote onsites: 60%+ of companies we talk to are already thinking about ways to use time together physically to improve culture
The most popular we hear is flying the team into remote locations for ~week. Portugal, Spain, Puerto Rico seem to be the most popular
https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="đ" title="Tanzende Frau" aria-label="Emoji: Tanzende Frau"> Personal choice: the smartest people I know personally are all planning to work remotely this decade
The most exciting companies I know personally all plan to hire remotely this decade
~90% of the workforces weâve spoken to never want to be in an office again full-time
https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="đ¨" title="Polizeiautos mit drehendem Licht" aria-label="Emoji: Polizeiautos mit drehendem Licht"> Async by default: is the thing that organizations are struggling with most
The majority of companies have replicated the office remotely and it is causing strains that are beginning to show
https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="đ¤" title="Gesicht mit Kopfbandage" aria-label="Emoji: Gesicht mit Kopfbandage"> Personal injury: These are exploding. Companies havenât moved quickly enough to prevent them and back, neck and repetitive strain injuries are becoming a huge problem
Expect this to remedy this quickly by providing better, ergonomic equipment to workers
https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="đ" title="Weltkugel mit Längengraden" aria-label="Emoji: Weltkugel mit Längengraden"> Universal problems: doesnât matter the size of the organization, every company is dealing with the same thing
We spoke to early-stage companies, publicly listed tech companies, through to legacy incumbents with hundreds of thousands of employees
All will be more remote
https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="đ" title="Fabrik" aria-label="Emoji: Fabrik"> Pollution reduction: many companies weâve spoken to care massively about the environmental impact that eradicating the office â and the commute â will have
108 million tons of Co2 less every year
https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="â¤ď¸" title="Rotes Herz" aria-label="Emoji: Rotes Herz"> Quality of life: even more importantly companies are realizing that they donât need to expect workers to waste 2 hours a day commuting to sit in an office chair for 8 hour
Almost every company we talk to believes that their workers will be happier as a result of remote work
https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="đ¨" title="Angstvolles Gesicht" aria-label="Emoji: Angstvolles Gesicht"> Remote pressure: a few companies weâve spoken to have decided to be more remote than they initially intended because their competitors already did it
There is a fear inside companies that if they donât go remote they will lose their best people to their competitors
https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="đť" title="Geist" aria-label="Emoji: Geist"> Remote fear: most companies arenât scared about the quality of work that will be produced
They are scared about intangible things they canât measure
âquality of communicationâ && âcollaboration in personâ && âwater cooler chatâ
Many have realized these were excuses
https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="đ" title="Rakete" aria-label="Emoji: Rakete"> Output over time: the measure of performance in the office is how much time you spend sat in your seat
The measure of performance while working remotely has to become output. Tools that enable this to be tracked more accurately are something we are asked for a lot
https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="âď¸" title="Schreibende Hand" aria-label="Emoji: Schreibende Hand"> Written over spoken: documentation is the unspoken superpower of remote teams. The most successful team members remotely will be great writers
Companies are searching for ways to do this more effectively. Tools that enable others to write better will explode
https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="đ¨âđź" title="BĂźroangestellter" aria-label="Emoji: BĂźroangestellter"> Flattened orgs: middle management is in trouble, an unnecessary bottlenecks which serve no tangible purpose inside async organizations
Companies need coaching and facilitators to maximize organizational effectiveness
https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="đď¸" title="Eintrittskarte" aria-label="Emoji: Eintrittskarte"> Company Resorts: Several companies are thinking about creating resort like compounds where work happens in person
Expect these to be built in incredible locations and focussed on providing the best on-site experience possible
https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="đŠââď¸" title="Richterin" aria-label="Emoji: Richterin"> Remote Laws: Many companies 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
https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="đ" title="Stoppzeichen" aria-label="Emoji: Stoppzeichen"> Meeting Death: Wasting 2 hours traveling to a meeting will end. The benefits of in-person are eroded by the benefits of not traveling
Conferences and quarterly networking events will become more important for cultivating in-person relationships
https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="đł" title="Bowling" aria-label="Emoji: Bowling"> Internal community: Team cohesion and company culture isnât impossible remotely â but itâs very different
In the same way companies are finally realizing the power of community externally â internal community may become even more important to a companies success
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