Why We Must Demand Remote Work

Remote work is the biggest workplace revolution in history and nothing will deliver a higher quality of life increase in the next decade than this. Workers having more flexibility to decide their work schedule, able to operate when they are most productive rather than a fixed day, enables a far better future of work than the one we currently experience. Organizing work around your life is a huge transition with major implications. Gone is the requirement to beg your bosses permission to go to an appointment, it is the ability to drop and pick your child up from work every day with time in the afternoon to go for your recharging run.

Being handcuffed to an office and expected to live in a high cost of living city with a low quality of life is a remnant of the industrial revolution. The devolution of offices into almost factory-like conditions as distraction factory adult kids clubs is complete. The office has literally become the worst place on the planet to get the issolation and focus you need to do deep work.

Make no mistake, remote work is exploding to prominence right now. We are living through the inflection point today. Shortly, workers will realize their power and influence to demand remote work.

I actually think I’m being pessimistic when I state that remote work will be the dominant form of work within a decade. If the right tools exist it will be more like 5 years.

123m people working remotely in 2024/2025

There’s a real possibility that’s how soon it will happen. The sooner you make the transition the better. Great workers with an evidenced ability to work remotely will be the most sought after team members in the world within 2–3 years. With that being said, here are the 33 trends I predict will be most important as remote work rises to dominate every workspace:

1. ? Third Space

Office and Working from Home will be joined by somewhere close by that a number of people will use

Supermarkets or local bank branches should emerge as a convenient ubiquitous location option — if they are smart

2. ⏰ Asynchronous Work

Offices are instantaneous gratification distraction factories where synchronous work makes it impossible to get stuff done

Tools that enable asynchronous work are the most important thing globally remote teams need. A lot of startups will try to tackle this

3. ⚽️ Hobbie Renaissance

Remote working will lead to a rise in people participating in hobbies and activities which link them to people in their local community

This will lead to deeper, more meaningful relationships which overcome societal issues of loneliness and issolation

4. ? Rural Living

World-class people will move to smaller cities, have a lower cost of living & higher quality of life

These regions must innovate quickly to attract that wealth. Better schools, faster internet connections are a must

5. ? Constant Presence

Asynchronous work lets you have the issolation to do deep work but it’s not always required

Communication solutions which enable presence, like an open mic while gaming, will become more compelling

6. ?‍? Bad Tech

Remote will grow so popular so quickly that it will attract people who have no interest in it other than greed — like blockchain/crypto in 2017

Their lack of understanding of remote work will lead to them replicating the bad parts of office working remotely

7. ? Remote Rejection

Certain demographics and generations will reject the transition. Their benefit — that everyone in the office is like them and it’s easier for them to progress — will be their reason

Companies that don’t transition will be left behind

8. ? Diversity & Inclusion

The most diverse and inclusive teams in history will emerge rapidly

Companies who embrace it have a first-mover advantage to attract great talent globally

Companies who don’t will lose their best people to their biggest competitors

9. ✅ Output focus:

Time will be replaced as the main KPI for judging performance by productivity and output. Great workers will be the ones who deliver what they promise consistently

Advancement decisions will be decided by capability rather than who you drink beer with after work

10. ? 1 Car Households

The rise of remote will have tremendous indirect benefits towards slashing pollution

Families will benefit from only needing one car slashing cost of living, potentially cutting commuting a lot

11. ? Private Equity

the hottest trend of the next decade for private equity will see them purchase companies, make them remote-first

The cost saving in real-estate at scale will be eye-watering. The productivity gains will be the final nail in the coffin for the office

12. ☠️ The death of Coworking

The last recession was the beginning of the end for bespoke vanity office

The next recession will spell the same thing for co-working spaces

The rise of remote will mean a majority of the 255m desk jobs globally are remote by 2029

13. ? Talent Wars

Remote work is the perk that is most sought after by workers globally. This will only increase

Remote-first companies will disrupt every incumbent who doesn’t/isn’t able to make that transition

14. ✍️ Written Communication

the most important skill for workers to cultivate. Reading and understanding also key

Cultural issues arising from misunderstanding meaning behind the way people write becomes a big issue

15. ? Working Too Much

Companies worry that the workers won’t work enough when operating remotely.

The opposite will be true and become a big problem

Remote workers burning out because they work too much will have to be addressed

16. ? Distraction Avoidance

The home office will skyrocket in popularity. A space at home to get away a necessity

There will be an explosion of people purchasing standalone units for their backyards for this.

17. ? Global Citizens

Individuals with no national attachment become ubiquitous. Challenges of paying people cross border due to compliance and legal issues slowly fade away as the world becomes more borderless

18. ✈️ Retreat Destinations

Global hubs will pop-up that cater to remote teams getaways

Resort-like escapes with a deep focus on team building, collaboration, planning, and efficiency. Hotels with facilitators /coaches who assist teams for the duration

19. ❤️ Life-Work Balance

The rise of remote will lead to people re-prioritizing what is important to them

Organizing your work around your life will be the first noticeable switch. People realizing they are more than there job will lead to a deeper purpose in other areas

20. ? Fractional Ownership

remote work will make advancement less important/more difficult

Rather than reward being a better title, fractional ownership could enable workers to be more easily rewarded with ownership of their companies/make the market for equity more liquid

21. ? Bullshit Tasks

The need to pad out your 8 hour day will evaporate, replaced by clear tasks and responsibilities

Workers will do what needs to be done rather than wasting their trying to look busy with the rest of the office

22. ? Decentralized Opportunity

Remote work will do more for inequality than anything in history. Workers everywhere will find the best, highest paying job

The fear that this will depreciate wages will be unfounded as companies will need more talent than exists

23. ♿️ Accessible Jobs

Remote work will make work more accessible than it has ever been

Nothing will stop workers getting the job they deserve because there will be no obstacles in their way

24. ?️ Remote Tools

Companies operating remotely now will have created tools every remote team on the planet needs

@Zapier@Gitlab@GitHub@FirstbaseHQ will spawn Mafias who take these internal tools and create startups around them

Several $Billion Startups to emerge this way

25. ?‍♀️ Multiple Jobs

The gig/freelancer economy will evolve. Remote work allows workers to have multiple employers

The difference in terms of reliability and consistency will be huge, eradicating doubt, lead to better conditions for workers

26. ? Remote Jobs

There won’t be enough remote jobs for at least the next 5 years. World-class people will drive the change

They will demand more remote opportunities and realize the influence they have to make their companies give it to them

27. ? Remote Infrastructure

The focus on the sexy won’t change any time soon

There is a missing half of remote work that’s neglected because it’s difficult, boring, and unsexy

It will be the most critical. Until that’s solved remote teams won’t scale globally easily

28. ?No Code

Will grows to dominate creation

@webflow@figmadesign, amongst others will democratize access unlike ever before. Remote workers who have an area of expertise and one of these broad skills will be unicorns at first before everyone else realizes the need

29. ? Social Contact

Loneliness, disconnection neither improved or worsened by remote work

A number of people’s main social contact comes at work, with people decided by their bosses hiring policy

Remote work must lead to deeper more meaningful relationships with friends/family

30. ?‍♂️Health & Wellbeing

A lack of commute will give workers 25 extra days a year to do other things

Workers will exploit the freedom they have to organize things more freely in their day. Afternoon runs, morning meditation, 2 things a lot of people I know now do

31. ? Child Connection

Hearing your child’s first laugh, seeing their first steps won’t just be in the memory of one parent

Being there, feeling like your children know you. Dropping them at school each day. Small things that remote gives

32. ? Visa Issues

The problem with workers having to leave a job due to the expiry of their visas will no longer exist

Companies won’t accept losing their best people simply because their right to be in a specific country expires

Remote will be an easy option

33. ? International Talent

Great for developing countries. International companies will access to talent globally

Access to opportunity will be decentralized

34. ? Job Title Death

What your job title is will become more irrelevant as remote work becomes more prominent

What you do, what you’re capable of, the tools you can wield will enable you to do jobs that break you free from the shackles of a title

35. ?️ Universal Tools

Global workforce that understands and the same SAAS services means technical debt for training =$0

Companies add another seat to SaaS platform and worker uses the same tool they would use if they were in an office or with a different company

36. ? Older Workforce

Boomers may be standing in the way of the remote work revolution happening quickly, believe least in its benefits, lack the trust for it to emerge

Ironically, remote work will allow them to work far more easily later in life