The Future of Work Isn’t Fully Distributed or Remote
Permanent Work From Home (WFH) Addresses Current Tension but Threatens Value of Companies and Talent
Big tech has led workplace and talent strategies for the last decade — Namely how to attract and retain the best talent (e.g. onsite cafes, casual dress, summer hours, paid sabbaticals, etc). Now Facebook, Microsoft and others are outlining new work from home policies given recent productivity gains reported during sheltering in place orders telling employees that they won’t be required to show up until at least 2021: Zuckerberg also said that 50% of his workforce will be WFH by 2030 (even when just 20% of his employees had interest in working remotely long-term). And Coinbase’s CEO published his organizational policy as being “remote-first” or part in-office and part remote providing “optionality” as its primary talent attractor. Coinbase also outlined a vision to pursue a hub and spoke strategy where the company would have “one floor of office space in ten cities, rather than ten floors of office space in one city.”
The first moves appear to be more about addressing the short-term fears and concerns of office workers than long-term value. But the future of work isn’t fully distributed or remote — as we see the tactics emerge. The most effective strategy for innovative work requires agility, flexibility and optionality for the…
