Revolution of Remotes

This week, I want to talk about remote workers and the trend going forward. You likely already know that 2020 put a lot of people into a home office, and this year will be the first wave of the revolution of remotes. Companies switching to remote work either fully, partially, or as an employee option include Amazon, VMWare, American Express, Twitter, Shopify, Nationwide, Square, and Upwork.

Besides company cost savings on overhead, is working from home just as productive as working in the office? A two-year study by Great Place to Work (reported on February 10, 2021) of more than 800,000 employees at Fortune 500 companies found that most companies reported stable or even increased productivity levels after employees started working from home.

Hayden Brown, CEO of Upwork said, “Upwork knows firsthand the incredible outcomes that distributed teams can deliver. Building on our 20 years of experience as a remote work company, we are now permanently embracing a ‘remote-first’ model.”

REI President and CEO Eric Artz reportedly told employees that, post-COVID, the REI home office was no longer a building but wherever they found themselves doing their best work, pursuing outdoor passions, serving communities, and serving others.

The list of benefits for companies and workers includes cleaner air (less cars on the road means less toxic emissions), less chances of car accidents (insurance companies do appreciate fewer payouts), and time and money saved from no longer making commutes. Add to that the ability to pull talent together from all over the world, and it sounds pretty beneficial.

According to CarbonFootPrint.com, not having to commute 30 miles per day could save 55.5 metric tons of CO2 over the span of a 35-year career. Appointments (including trips to the gym) during the week are so efficient during working hours that remote workers can save months of wasted time, which they can then spend nurturing relationships.

So what’s going to happen to all of this vacant office space? Forbes magazine (as of March 2021) says that some of them will become fulfillment centers and warehouses, while others will become self-storage buildings.

“There are stable CRE sectors that have continued to perform well that investors should look forward to investing in,” the Forbes article states.

Which businesses do you expect to flourish during the revolution of remotes? Leave your comments for me on Twitter @shervin.