Is Work From Anywhere a good idea for your business?

As Airbnb announces last week that their employees can now ‘work from anywhere’ with no pay cut, businesses and their employees around the world are considering and pros and cons of this work model. The decision comes as other firms start trying to encourage staff to return to the office for a few days a week, leading some workers to quit.

Airbnb CEO, Brian Chesky, said on the new WFA policy: “I think this will become the predominant way that we all work 10 years from now. This is where the world is going."

In his letter to staff, Chesky summed up Airbnb's flexible working policy in five main points:

1. You can work from home or the office
2. You can move anywhere in the country you work in and your compensation won’t change
3. You have the flexibility to travel and work around the world
4. We’ll meet up regularly for gatherings (likely every quarter for about a week at a time)
5. We’ll continue to work in a highly coordinated way

At LiquidSpace, we’ve been a WFA workplace since founding in 2010. Our corporate culture values people over places and believes in offering employees the freedom to work from where it works best for them.

More and more businesses are considering how this work model could benefit them and their employees, realizing the unique benefits it provides. Could it work for your business?

What is ‘Work from Anywhere’ (WFA)?

We’ve all heard of WFH, or work from home, because that’s all most of us have been doing throughout the pandemic. So, what’s work from anywhere?

WFA is a workplace policy that allows employees to work wherever they want – providing they can perform their jobs. Initially, WFA was seen amongst tech companies that wanted to be more competitive in recruiting and retaining employees. 

Here are the characteristics of a WFA workplace:

• Employees work remotely. Their location is not tied to the physical location of company offices.
• Even though they don’t provide a central workplace, many WFA employers go to lengths to ensure that employees have a professional and productive work environment. For example, the employer might give employees a stipend so they can outfit their home offices with the proper equipment and ergonomic furniture. They might also subsidize an employee’s membership at a coworking space or serviced office, using a platform like LiquidSpace to streamline the process of finding, vetting and paying for flexible workspaces.
• WFA workplaces give the employer some built-in advantages:
• With fewer employees coming to the office, the company can spend less on office space.
• The company is better prepared to withstand a recurrence of covid or some other pandemic.
• The company is able to recruit talent nationally, even globally.
• A WFA workplace also comes with some obligations:
• The company needs to be able to support distributed work through technology. The good news is that many of the required tools, particularly collaboration and conferencing platforms, were put to the test in 2020.
• Managers have to be skilled in managing remote teams. No surprise, motivating and supervising remote employees isn’t the same when face-to-face meetings are less frequent.
• Some notable WFA companies include REI, Fujitsu, Nationwide Insurance, Nielsen, Facebook, Square, Twitter, and Zillow.

Why companies are getting onboard

Better productivity

You’d think that the conventional office environment is the perfect place to work, but 65% of office workers disagree. They feel that productivity increases outside of the traditional business setting.

Why?

• The lack of a daily commute can add hours to an employees’ day
• Fewer distractions like chatty colleagues, unscheduled interruptions and office feuds
• An improved balance between work and home lives allows maximum productivity for both
• More control over the work environment
• Employees tend to work longer

Access to a global talent pool

Firms that allow ‘work from anywhere’ aren’t restricted to hiring only from the same geographical area. They may draw on staff from all over the world. This will enable them to negotiate better rates without sacrificing the quality of output.

Lower overheads

One key benefit is ‘work from anywhere’ allows businesses to cut back on infrastructure costs. They don’t have to lease or maintain expensive office spaces to accommodate all their employees.

Instead, workers provide their own office space and equipment, which makes things simple. In instances where employees need access to professional business equipment or meeting rooms, flexible office and coworking spaces offer a cost-effective solution.

Employee costs may drop as well, and workers may be willing to take a reduction in pay for a ‘work from anywhere’ model.  

Fewer sick days

People who Work From Anywhere get sick like everyone else. The difference is that at home, there’s limited exposure to viruses. One ill worker who may have previously dragged themselves in won’t suddenly infect half your workforce.

It’s better for the environment

Less commuting means less traffic on the road and less pollution. No longer having to run a permanent office reduces energy requirements and cleaning materials needed. These seem like small changes, but they all add up over time.

Better efficiency

Do you remember when everyone had to head into the head office for a briefing? Additional time had to be scheduled for travel time, traffic delays, the meet and greet, as well as the meeting itself. Allowing telecommuting makes things more efficient. Workers may call in via Skype or Zoom and attend meetings virtually in their offices. And no one leaves a critical file at the office.

Better employee retention

Retaining your best employees is critical in ensuring the ongoing success and continuity of your business. By allowing Work From Anywhere you’re increasing job satisfaction and supporting employee retention.

Allowing employees to choose where to work from makes it easier for them to focus on the job. They won’t have to worry about getting up an hour early to beat the traffic, getting their children to school, or squeezing in a workout.

Improved trust

Allowing your employees to Work From Anywhere tells them that you trust them implicitly. This improves the relationship and fosters a better culture within the company. Employees will work that much harder to show that the trust was well-placed.

What’s in it for employees?

Better work-life balance

Work From Anywhere cuts out long commutes and allows employees better flexibility with their schedules. If they need to pick their children up from activities, they don’t have to squeeze it into a short lunch break. They simply make up the time later in the day. Employees can accommodate regular errands in their schedule without stressing about being at work on time.

They choose where to work

A big perk of this working model is that workers can choose where they want to work from. This allows them the freedom to work from home, from a coffee shop, or from a family vacation. As long as they have a Wi-Fi signal, they can keep their work up to date.

Will your employer introduce WFA?

Only time will tell how many other businesses choose to adopt this work model, however there are clues that suggest a long-term trend toward WFA. For instance, after spending 2020 hosting empty corporate campuses, many companies are downsizing or closing their offices in order to reduce overhead and increase flexibility. We’re also seeing a migration of skilled employees move from big cities to more affordable remote locations. The rise of 'digital nomads' are also the envy of many office workers. And according to Gallup, two-thirds of employees want to continue to work remotely. This will undoubtedly put pressure on employers to allow for remote work in order to recruit and retain employees.

One platform to serve them all

One thing is true for all employers, whether they pursue hybrid or WFA policies; they will need to provide employees with more than just the binary options of HQ and home. There has to be a third option for employees who can’t or won’t commute, but also don’t find it productive to work from home all the time. 

Flexible offices, once associated with startups and small businesses, are poised to fill that gap. That’s why LiquidSpace launched LiquidSpace Enterprise – the world’s first and only Work From Anywhere management platform. Now companies can procure flexible workspace at scale. Find out more here.