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