Why every company needs a clear and cogent work-from-anywhere policy

Our approach to work is changing and with it, the power dynamic between employer and employee is shifting to a new model. Post pandemic remote working has developed into a framework where workers have clarity in the model design outlined and adopted, one which values flexibility and wellbeing. For any technology-based business, implementing remote and nomad policies is now a must to compete in the war for global talent and retain existing a-players. 

The Great Resignation Shows it’s Time to Think about more than just Work From Home

Whether you are a business leader or an employee, you are already well aware that something is happening in the workforce. Some people call it the Great Resignation, others may refer to it as the Great Disengagement. The bottom line is the same: employees are leaving their jobs en masse and a recent survey shows that, when given the chance to work flexibly, 87% of workers in the US will take it.

A simplistic way to look at it is to blame workers, thinking they are only chasing better salaries. Another is to think the only reason behind the Great Resignation is the forced work-from-home experiment that the pandemic imposed on us. The truth is, however, more complex: feelings of great resignation started well before the pandemic and companies must address the cause of the problem and not focus on the symptom.  

In 2021, MIT Sloan Management Review’s survey revealed how the Great Resignation has been driven by toxic company culture. In an analysis of 34 million online profiles, researchers came to the conclusion that toxic company culture is the single strongest signal of attrition rates, way more significant than compensation in predicting employee turnover. 

Rethinking and Unlearning - The key to implementing a successful organisational design for work-from-anywhere 

Think again, says author and organisation psychologist Adam Grant, meaning that in a constantly changing world, changing your mind might pay off. I’ll give you an example from his book. 

Do you remember Blackberry phones? In 2009, Blackberry was riding high, with over 20% of the global smartphone market. Everyone from Obama to Oprah said that they couldn’t live without their Blackberries. Five years later the iPhone happened, and Blackberry’s market share dropped to barely 1%. What happened is Mike Lazardis, the founder of Blackberry, was convinced that people would never want or get used to tapping on glass instead of using a real keyboard, and they just wanted to get work done so they did not need a device with access to entertainment, social media, music, web browsing and media. 

So if you think that employees today are happy with just a stable contract, a good salary and a nice, modern office, well… think again. 

It is time to rethink our fundamental assumptions about organisational structure and about work. The old, in-office logic no longer serves us so it is time to let go of it. At the same time, in a world of choice, restricting remote work policies and only allowing work from home or from certain geographies is a short-sighted move: after an existential crisis and more than two years of limited mobility, zoom fatigue and remote micromanagement, people want the freedom to say no to things that hold no real value, from pointless and exhausting meetings to toxic corporate culture. 

Use the Air B n B work-from-anywhere policy as a template  

Now that the shadow of the pandemic is almost behind us, going back to “normal operations” is not enough: leaders need to reflect and leverage the recent remote work revolution to intentionally plan for a more inclusive, resilient and distributed structure. 

Today we work in a very different world. 

Airbnb’s CEO Chesky writes: "Our business wouldn't have recovered as quickly from the pandemic if it hadn't been for millions of people working from Airbnbs." 

He recently released a new, company-wide policy that allows the company’s employees to live and work from anywhere, with 5 key features: 

• Employees can work from home or the office, depending on what works best for them
• They can move anywhere within the same country without their compensation changing
• They can work from anywhere in the world for 90 days a year
• There will be regular, in-person meet-ups
• The company will operate off a multi-year roadmap that will allow working in a coordinated way

His publicly published policy was seen as concise and dynamic, a sure industry benchmark. It also accommodates Digital Nomadism for shorter periods every year, by enabling work from anywhere for up to 90 days per annum. It serves as a blueprint for any business considering a work-from-anywhere operational design in the near future. And he is not alone: Work From Anywhere team has released a list of companies currently allowing WFA. 

Another big step towards implementing a successful remote work and nomad strategy is reviewing and updating your HR policies: 

1. You need to take certain skills into consideration: autonomy, proactivity and self-motivation are a must in a remote environment
2. You need to analyse and decide if your compensation will be location-based 
3. Protecting your employees’ health whilst traveling and working must be a priority - there are a number of solutions available, such as SafetyWing’s Remote Health Insurance (they even have a whole, very interesting podcast episode on how companies can provide the best benefits for their remote teams). 
4. Keep up with upskilling your employees and put into place a remote training program

Lastly, but also vital, it is paramount to train your leadership and create a healthy remote company culture that is encouraging and positive for remote workers. 

In summary, brave and cogent leadership is needed in this strategic development for the new world of work. Therefore, whatever next work design moves you make, ensure you keep the key concepts of enabling working from anywhere in mind and endeavor to support worker flexibility, autonomy and wellbeing at all points.