Work Anywhere

We Are Not All Going Back to the Office, and We Are Not All Going to Work From Home.

Much of what you see in the media these days seems polarized, including how people view the future of work. We’re told it is going to be all work from home (WFM) now or that offices will be completely restructured for covid protection as everyone heads back to the office. 

Physical distancing has accelerated a movement that has been emerging for a few years now, and that is “work from anywhere" (WFA). Sometimes it is referred to as virtual teams, or remote work. But those titles don’t quite capture the fullness of the shift, only a component. 

Work from anywhere means that people are set up and supported to work where, when, and how is best for them. It is about having the ability to consistently select the best work environment that week, that day or that hour. 

No Going Back

The genie that is out of the bottle is that professionals now want more options for how, when, and where they work. They will insist that the convenience, flexibility, inspiring surroundings, and privacy of working at home remain important to them and to their productivity. Trying to put people back into the work lives they used to lead would be as disruptive and mentally challenging to them as accommodating the pandemic in the first place.

Yet all the support and sociability they come to expect in a traditional office setting needs to be part of the plan as well - virtually and physically when possible.

Good for Individuals and Organizations

The advantages of work from anywhere - or #workanywhere - are realized by both individuals and the organizations they perform work for. 

It allows individuals to pursue career choices that they may not otherwise have had the chance to based on where they prefer to live. It allows them to balance both their professional cravings for interesting work and collaborators with personal living arrangements and places that meet their situations.

Since “anywhere talent” is available from anywhere, companies will also be looking to reduce long-term cost commitments (leases) and embracing distributed teams so they can access the best talent wherever they are and they will want the agility to quickly grow and shrink their organization as needed.

Welcome to work from anywhere!