"Belonging and inclusivity will become increasingly synonymous with transparency. The remote community will push organizations to be uncomfortably transparent, recognizing that more access to information creates a more welcoming, less secretive, and less political workplace — key factors in driving productivity and talent retention.
Remote work has democratized the conversation on workplace flexibility. I predict that in 2021 and beyond, remote will be the new tier-1 filter for job seekers. Companies who do not support it upfront will lose on key talent, enabling firms who do invest in a world-class remote infrastructure to realize outsized efficiency and productivity gains.
We’ve seen small exoduses from big cities thanks to remote work; this trend will only intensify. As location becomes less synonymous with well-paying careers, people no longer feel obligated to pay high rents and live far away from family. They now have the chance to make home where they truly want. With this, we’ll see more career opportunities for those who do not have the ability or desire to pick up and move for a job. "
"As we watched the future of work speed up in 2020, we can see the importance of community continue to be highlighted. From people taking the opportunity to choose where they want to live and needing help with finding that tennis club they always wanted, to making remote work local by connecting people on a human level allowing candidates to access direct advice from potential future colleagues.
We are all seeing how community is taking a bigger role in hiring and it's exciting to see people embracing that."
"1. We will call stop calling it "remote work" and call it just "work". As in "I work for a company in XYZ"
2. Offices will become hubs. Think concepts like "The Apple Store" but as an office. A place where most people only visit for special events.
3. Remote work combined with an economic crisis will lead to more people working multiple open-ended freelance jobs in parallel.
4. Global relocation will become a perk for remote teams. "Join our team as Director of X" and we pay your relocation into a region of your choice and help you find your dream house.
5. Countries, states and cities will consider remote work the new economic incentive program. "Come to X… Here is 10k and these 3 taxes are reduced for the first year."
6. Education will be completely rethought remote-first. The best teachers will build media companies more powerful than universities."
"Remote and virtual work will become even more mainstream, ushering in a wave of innovations that address the social-emotional support people need to do their best work from anywhere. We currently have an isolation and loneliness epidemic in virtual work, which will only get worse as more people and companies find their way to remote work. Look for experiences that focus less on the information flow (e.g. screen sharing, whiteboards, and task management) and more on the flow of wellness, community, and engagement.
I predict knowledge workers will soon look much more like tiny autonomous businesses than the cog in the machine we’ve seen over the past many decades. Each teammate will bring their own tools, processes, preferences, and even resources to help the larger mission—and as a result, companies will invest in making this easier. The decentralization of central control will lead to stronger team culture, faster innovation, and even more productivity gains in the work from anywhere era."
"One day we will live in a world where digital equity will no longer be a topic of discussion. Everyone will have access to a device, connectivity and technology education will be embedded in all schools.
In 2020 we saw how people from marginalized communities were, and continue to be, disproportionately affected by the digital divide. This has amplified the discussion about pathways to the jobs of today and tomorrow, who gets to access those opportunities and why these jobs need to be accessible for economic growth and prosperity.
I think our country will have no choice but to create a national talent strategy that includes training and retraining people for the future of work to ensure everyone has an opportunity to participate."