I've spoken to 2,000+ people about remote work in the last 12 months
A few predictions of what is likely to emerge before 2030
[ a thread ] π»π π
π Rural Living: 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
β° 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
β½οΈ 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
π 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
β 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
π° 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
π΄ 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
βοΈ Remote Retreats: purpose built destinations that allow for entire companies to fly into a campus for a synchronous week
Likely staffed with facilitators and educators who train staff of how to maximize effectiveness
β€οΈ 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 deeper purpose in other areas
Workers will do what needs to be done rather than wasting their trying to look busy with the rest of the office
π§ββοΈ 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
π€ personal RPA: robotic process automation will transform work for individuals
No-code tools that enable workers to built bots that automate menial parts of their roles will be huge
π Death of HQ: the office is dead but offices will persist. Theyβll be used less frequently then hardly at all
Co-working, subscription clubs, will emerge that let workers who prefer that mode of work to operate from there
π Remote Living: Work from anywhere RVs will become huge business
Associated business parks and services will spring up. This will happen even more rapidly as self driving tech emerges
reality: renaissance of states, cities, towns, and places forgotten about as people left in pursuit of opportunity only available in big cities where they can now return to due to remote work
many of the people who fear this have no idea how high wages are in the places they think jobs will disappear to
and some people genuinely argue that a $10K-$50K expense of an office is going to keep jobs here? $10M-$50M per 1,000 person company
after a global pandemic that literally proved almost any job can be done remotely over 15 months of a global pandemic
the benefits of in-person meetings aren't going to be as big as some people remember and the time they waste getting there will lead to massive resentment
this will lead to people questioning WTF they are doing traveling 2H to and back from a meeting that is 30 minutes long
flying overnight for a 30-minute meeting? finished
some people think there will be a pullback to the norm
but that assumes both parties want this
they won't
"well that's the price we pay for collaboration"
you mean that thing that has continued remotely during a global pandemic, which everyone was forced into overnight with no processes in place to make it work?
Physical retail is no longer economically viable because eCommerce is more convenient, cheaper, and it offers far more flexibility, control, and choice.