Takeaways from the latest State of Remote Work report from WeWorkRemotely and the downstream effects I envision:
2 min readApr 17, 2021
- 74% of employers plan to keep their teams remote after the pandemic ⏩ Work from anywhere becomes more accepted, positively impacting people’s lifestyle and happiness levels. Purchase behavior will somewhat shift from clothes and cars to home design, gardening, and hobbies.
- By 2025, the number of people working remotely in the US will increase by a whopping 87% from 19.5M to 36.2M ⏩ The City will not die, in fact I predict the Rise of “Second Cities” which has been promised for years now. This will actually happen now as people shift from employment based to a lifestyle based approach to life, choosing less expensive, intimate communities, closer to nature and aligned with people’s interests.
- Remote workers save approximately $500 per month between commute, parking, etc ⏩ Great, except for the entire business ecosystems situated around office spaces. Your favorite lunch place will close down or suffer, as well as brick and mortar retail. Delivery and dark kitchens will rise but would the “small guys” be able to switch or forced to close and go from self-employed to employed?
- It’s not all rosy on the homeworking front: employee burnout is real and people are working all hours of day and night ⏩ Policy needs to be articulated, put in place, and publicized, starting from the top corporates who always lead the way, trickling down to smaller employers.
- Loneliness is a real problem. 16% of those surveyed admitted to struggling with this. Even post-pandemic, those living alone will be affected. ⏩ Community will come to the forefront, with Coliving and Coworking emerging as the lifestyle choice for those seeking to build connections. This by no means applies only to young singles – couples, families, and older singles, and retirees will make up the rich and vibrant fabric of residents bringing their unique experiences and input to the community.
- There is a consensus that there will continue to be a need for in-person collaboration for specific initiatives and tasks. However, it’ll likely take a different shape as team building, brainstorming, and similar functions will return to be in person events. ⏩ Off-site spaces such as Coliving, Retreats, and similar will play a role in both hosting the companies which have given up their offices altogether and those who want to switch things up between office and off-site.
