In this Origin Story session, I speak with Adrian Pinon, a first generation college grad who took an unlikely path of self-promotion to his first job: Visiting tech company HQs around California with his message on a sign, garnering attention from ABC News, CBS News and other outlets. By doing this, Adrian proved himself to be a master marketer.
We talk through the journey Adrian took to land his first job out of university: Not knowing about college until late in life, overcoming naysayers, and learning how to market himself. Adrian even founded his own events app before graduation!
Words of wisdom: • A closed mouth does not get fed. • Talk to a person. Don’t let applicant tracking systems hold you back. • Attend that networking event. You could randomly meet a lifelong connection.
On this session of Origin Story, I speak with Nadia Harris of Remote Work Advocate. We chat about emerging issues like location bias, the viability of hybrid offices, and how young professionals can build relationships during COVID. Surprisingly, we also touch on workplaces where in-person work may be most appropriate!
The differences between being a domestic and international digital nomad are particularly important in the virus recovery period. While vaccines have begun to roll out, it will be a while before things are “back to normal”.
I have the pleasure of co-writing this piece with Christina Davis, a digital nomad coach who’s gained a wealth of knowledge living around the world, and in Bali, Indonesia the bulk of the pandemic. Christina hosts the Nomadic Freedom Course, a 12 week program to help you start your nomad life.
The volume of bookings for vacation rentals as skyrocketed since the virus outbreak began. When you’re in the middle of the country, far from your home city, the last thing you want is no place to live.
This is greatly dependent on the amount of time you want to book. If you’re only staying in a place for 2 days, it may be easy to find. If you book for a month, AirBnB in particular will give you a deep discount (Usually 25%+). However, these monthlong stays are also available for short-term bookings. Don’t let a 2-3 day renter book right in the middle of your intended monthly stay. Book early! 3 months ahead, minimum.
It’s important to keep a wishlist of places to book, months before you confirm them. I like to spend some time on a Friday night looking at “dream bookings”.
Finding Appropriate Workspace
You have to think ahead about how you’re going to get your work done. If you thought finding a quiet space at home was difficult, try doing it in an AirBnB.
When booking vacation rentals, you want to thoroughly ask the host about wi-fi speed, table and chair setups available, how sound carries through rooms, even how noisy the neighbors are.
Some vacation rentals can actually lack a workspace, and you must improvise one. For me, chest-height window ledges have worked similarly to a standing desk.
Scheduling for the Weather
Have you thought about heading to California or Florida to escape the winter, living in balmy weather on the beach?
Great. There’s one problem with that. Every region has weather challenges. It’s not always 72° and sunny.
In 2020, California and the West had some of the worst forest fires in their history. There were 13,887 wildfires last year. 46 people died. Always be prepared. The 2020 U.S. hurricane season produced 30 named storms, with 10 making U.S. landfall. This is the most since 1916.
In this way, you don’t want to be in the dry West during wildfire season (approx. July to November) or the Eastern coastal areas during hurricane season (June to November). Instead, think about the opposite during those times – the Pacific Northwest, or perhaps the Great Lakes!
Living on the Road
If you’re going to be living on the road, you need to have a good vehicle. If you’ve rented a car on vacation before, it may have seemed expensive. In this way, day-to-day rentals are not ideal. Get a “mini rental lease” and lock in a rate. You’ll thank yourself that you did.
You also have the option to buy. Oftentimes, this is even cheaper than renting, but comes with the commitment of owning a vehicle. Not to worry though, pre-recovery, the automotive market continues to be hot. I wrote more about this in my recent article, “The Road Warrior“.
Working for an Established Company Remotely
I was fortunate to spend 2020 at a company that weathered the virus crisis well. Not only were we already set up for remote working, with flexible time off, we actually debuted on the public markets during that time.
Not all digital nomads will be this lucky. If you’re currently employed full-time, ask your company when they plan for their “return to office”. If you’re currently interviewing, ask about their remote working policy up front, and strongly consider their financial stability. Say that you’re working for yourself, these rules don’t apply, however, have enough backup savings so that you won’t go bust while on the road.
International Travel (Christina Davis)
Managing Plane Flight Schedules & Bargains
When flying internationally, it’s imperative to compare your flights across multiple sites. I use a combination of booking options when planning trips, to make sure I’m getting the best deals possible! Which site I begin with depends on whether I have a clear destination,or if I’m looking for overall travel deals for certain time frames.
If I’m looking for the best deals with an undecided location, I will begin my search on Skyscanner. It’s great whether you’re looking for specific travel dates or just a general time period. You can go into the platform, type in your origin flight location and type in “Everywhere” as your destination, while also choosing dates you’d like to travel on. This will populate a list of countries, ranging from least to most expensive cost for a flight. As you click on each country, it will also provide you with a list of cities withgreat travel deals. If you know the destination you’d like to travel to, Skyscanner also can look at prices for the entire month, so you can choose the cheapest days available!
After finding the best deal, I’ll look at which of the booking options are available for Skyscanner. I will only book my tickets through the direct airline website or trusted sources, such as Expedia. I HIGHLY warn against booking directly with unknown 3rd party providers such as Kiwi, eDreams, MyTrip, etc. Although it may seem tempting because of the lower price, these companies usually DO NOT have customer service options if anything goes wrong with the flights. That includes delays, cancellations, baggage loss, etc.
I’ll also use Google Flights to price compare formy trips, in case there is another option that Skyscanner hasn’t listed. After this comparison, I’ll go directly to the airline’s website, which may list current deals or promotions they are having. Lastly, I’ll use my credit card travel booking system to compare the cost. If you have a credit card that allows you to use points for travel, this can be a MASSIVE help, as you can pay for either your whole trip or partial trip with your credit card points. I have even found that sometimes the prices were cheaper even without using points!
Bonus Tip: If you’re watching flights, make sure when you are opening an Incognito or Private Browser option, as your smartphone and computer are tracking your cookies, and the more you search a flight, the higher the price can actually become!
Managing Bookings (Hostels, Hotels, etc.)
When traveling internationally, I like to weigh out the different options for the type of travel I’m doing. If I’m backpacking or solo traveling, I’ll tend to look for a hostel, as it provides a social aspect to meet other travelers, while also being affordable. There are a range of different hostels you can stay at, with different amenities based on what atmosphere you are looking for. I usually will use Hostelworld.com when comparing hostels, reading reviews and booking my stay.
If I’m looking for a different type of accommodation, I will usually book for hotels or AirBnBs. AnAirBnB can be a really nice way to stay in a neighborhood where more locals may be living. Also, many AirBnB hosts can help give you suggestions for top sites or restaurants in the area. AirBnB is a great option for a more homey feel when traveling. All hotel search engines such as Booking.com, Expedia.com or Hotels.com allow you to sort through hotel options, allowing you to find the best deal!
Working for Yourself on the Road
While on the road, it’s important to create a routine for yourself. This allows you to focus on your work, enjoy the new city you are in, and also not get too easily distracted. While traveling, I look for a city in which I can set myself up for 2-4 weeks to work and explore. So ask yourself: “What type of daily routine can I hold to be productive with work and also enjoy my new city?”
For me, I’ll create a morning routine to start my day, then head off to a local cafe to work for a few hours. I love being able to work from cafes, have great food, and still feel like I’m a part of the town. Within my day, I’ll allow myself time to meet up with a friend, go for a beach/downtown walk, or whatever I can fit in. Afterwards, I’ll continue working until about dinner time, afterwards using the rest of the time to enjoy myself. Remember, you’re working for yourself, so you have the ability to create the life you want. Just always remember to never lose sight of your own work.
Finding Appropriate Workspace
When working in new cities, I find it extremely helpful to look for either coworking spaces or local cafes that have good wifi. To find these in a new city, I’ll do some research online, and join any digital nomad Facebook groups to ask for others’ suggestions! I always like to try out different places around the city, find my favorite few and use those as my new working spaces to get myself out of the house and enjoy the scenery of my new city! Coworking/cafes are great ways to meet new people and network with people from all over the world!
Mitigating Language Barriers
Depending on the country you are in, you may come across some language barriers. When I am going to a new country, I usually will find out how to say common phrases through Google Translate, or language learning apps like Duolingo. I always find that when you make an effort to speak the local language, locals appreciate it very much! It involves a mutual respect for local cultures. It’s a great thing to know, because you’ll find some locals will then even help you learn some more.
If you’re in a tough situation where you need to speak more in-depth, or are unable to read signs, Google Translate is extremely helpful. When you download the app onto your phone, you are able to let the other person speak into your phone, and the app will instantly translate what they are saying for you. In addition, you can now point your camera at signs or menus, and the app is able to translate it into the language you need. This can be super helpful in countries or situations where language barriers are difficult to overcome.
Travel after COVID
When traveling after COVID internationally, it’s super important to do extensive research on the restrictions of the country / city you’re going to. You want to make sure you are fully prepared for all requirements pre and post travel. For international travel, you should check not only the country’s government website for requirements to enter the country, but also the airlines. With rules changing constantly, you don’t need an unwanted surprise at the airport. Therefore, before traveling, make sure you check vaccination rules, PCR testing type needed, time frame in which test is valid, and quarantine rules.
When researching restrictions, make sure you’re reading from valid sources such as government websites, CDC or airline-specific information. If you do travel internationally, remember to respect locals by always abiding by their COVID related rules for curfews, gatherings and masks! If you are not prepared to respect regulations, then it may result in fines, arrest or even deportation. There have been incidents for example in Bali, where influencers went into a supermarket with a painted mask on their face as a prank, and were quickly deported out of Indonesia for breaking the law. Many countries recently reopened their borders, or are providing visas to be able to travel or work remotely again. Whether traveling for tourism or business, it is imperative that you do research to learn the country’s specific requirements. Traveling post-COVID is quite doable, and can still be safe, as long as you take the proper precautions!
Do You Dream of Living and Working Abroad?
If you’veever dreamed of becoming a digital nomad, living and working abroad, and having the freedom to create the life you have dreamed of, my Nomadic Freedom Course is the perfect fit for you. The Nomadic Freedom Course is a 12 week program where we shift your mindset, conquer your fears of going after this dream and build and scale an online business that you are passionate about. We will work to build and grow your business to allow you to sustain a life of adventure, freedom and location independence. This lifestyle is not reserved for the privileged, it is reserved for those who want it badly enough to take the leap! If you are looking to make that shift in your life and create your dream life, apply now to join the Nomadic Freedom Course. A thousand miles begins with just one step, so let’s get chatting!
DISCLAIMER: This article represents my personal views and not those of my employer or any affiliated organizations.
In this article, I’ll walk you through my own experiences living on the road, moving from vacation rental to vacation rental. Being a digital nomad takes a lot of effort. This is especially true if you’re working while doing it.
If you’re going to travel by vehicle, vs. by air, you need to be prepared.
The rental market for vehicles tends to fluctuate immensely. A few months into the virus crisis, many rental centers were practically begging customers to lease cars and trucks from their lots. Now post-crisis, rental and used vehicle prices are sky high, with a car computer chip shortage meaning fewer new vehicles are produced.
Buying a vehicle is a big decision to make. It comes with many commitments: Doing your own upkeep, inherited mechanical problems, and having to register in a home state. Rental centers typically will take care of maintenance, repairs, and you can drop your vehicle off in most major cities. This means you’re never worried about where you’re located.
The upside of buying is that (if purchasing with cash), you’ll never have to make a monthly payment again. You can also customize your vehicle however you like. For whatever money you put into buying the vehicle, you can get most of it back when reselling it.
Choosing a Vehicle
It’s important to choose a vehicle that suits your nomad lifestyle. Do you spend most of your time in urban areas? Perhaps something smaller, faster with better miles per gallon is best for you (like a Honda CR-V or RAV4). Do you do lots of off-roading to get to remote trailheads? You’ll need a truck or SUV with 4 Wheel Drive or All Wheel Drive capability and high ground clearance. Do you tend to sleep or camp in your vehicle often? You’ll want an SUV or van with a lot of space. Pickup trucks with a fitted canopy work well for this too.
Choosing Where to Do your Registration and Title
Believe it or not, the state or province that you register your vehicle in matters a lot. You may have to return there once a year to renew your registration, or to do emissions testing. You can only register in a state where you hold residence.
Outfitting your Vehicle for Weather Conditions and Terrain
There are all sorts of conditions that can pop up on the road.
If you’re traveling on the road, you’re going to need a lot of space. For this reason, it’s best to be a minimalist with your belongings while traveling.
We managed to stuff all of our things into the backseat of a 4-door Ford Ranger pickup, but it was quite a squeeze. Now, with a Honda Pilot, we’ve got a 6 seat SUV, able to fold 2 of those seat rows flat. That makes for a lot of room.
Another great trick for pickup trucks: Make use of that flat bed space. Our solution was a large sports cooler and a Thermos strapped into the back of our truck. We used 4 elastic straps to secure both containers, and not once had an issue, even on interstate highways.
You’ll want to load your vehicle up the night before your rental reservation ends. The reasoning? You’ll be spending checkout day cleaning the place up. You don’t want to be searching around for lost possessions.
Protecting your Vehicle
If you’re going to be taking long-haul road trips, you need to do regular upkeep and maintenance on your vehicle.
Even if you may think you’re in the “middle of nowhere”, you may be surprised. Trailheads and rural areas are some of the most common points of theft and break-ins. They are community gathering points where most people leave their vehicles unattended. This makes it easy for would-be thieves. To prevent this, make sure to buy a vehicle with a car alarm, or have one installed (Banvie car alarms are great and cheap). More importantly, buy a tarp to cover your belongings, so thieves can’t see what you “have to offer”. I recommend a Guard Rhino tarp, they’re only $14, and you can use them for many other purposes like camping and as a rain shield.
In the SUV, we also have a secret compartment under the truck bed, which contains a camp stove, fuel, a first aid kit, and a tire jack. (A Big Red 10 ton bottle jack should handle pretty much any vehicle). These emergency supplies will help us to survive a night in the wilderness with a flat tire, if we really need to.
Last but not least, protect the exterior of your vehicle. Desert sun can actually melt your paint. Too much water can make it rust. You can sustain scratches from not just rocks, but even tiny branches. So be sure to buy an external ceramic coating (like TriNova Hydrophobic Sealant). By doing this, you’re also insuring the resale value of your vehicle.
Happy Travels!
Okay! You’re ready to hit the road. Just remember: Vehicles that are loved and cared for have better resale value. Have fun in your vehicle, but be careful with it. You want to be able to trade it in for an even better model eventually, or to sell it if you want to “digital nomad” by plane, or “settle down”.
DISCLAIMER: This article represents my personal views and not those of my employer or any affiliated organizations.
When is the last time you took a business travel trip?
If you’re fresh out of college, that answer may be never.
Business travel has been romanticized in popular culture since the inception of passenger airlines. How many movies have you seen where a suited figure in first class reclines, sipping on a cocktail while reading through a business newspaper? How about a group of industry colleagues rolling up in a private car to an extravagant hotel? If you’ve watched Mad Men, Don Draper sharing a glass of whiskey during a business pitch may have come to mind.
The virus crisis has changed business travel forever. Will business travel exist after the pandemic? Certainly. However, its absence during the crisis has shown numerous companies just how many resources they were expending on business travel.
The first scheduled passenger plane flight departed on January 1st, 1914. Some of the longest standing airlines were KLM, Qantas and Avianca. Since the U.S. entered WWII later than European countries, they had more time to spend developing commercial aircraft. The U.S. industry since 1945 essentially set the standard for international air travel.
During the Golden Age of air travel, flying was a novelty experience defined by fine dining experiences and upscale services. The experience back then was probably similar to today’s first class section. The first “business class” was rolled out in December 1977 by Thai Airlines.
The decades leading up to the pandemic were filled withpractically unlimited expense accounts, luxury hotels, and exorbitant meals out. Business travel has not returned to its pre-virus levels. We’ll likely be videoconferencing for some time to come. I discuss this a bit in my recent article “We’re Never Going Back to the ‘Office‘”.
Business tourism? Yeah, that was a thing.
Pre-crisis, business travel would often be tauted as a perk. You would do the business trip at the end of the week, then stay the weekend to explore on your own time. Some individuals would even bring their spouse/partner who’d fly out separately.
My own dad still displays plaques for the company trips he won on the wall. The U.S. Virgin Islands. The Bahamas. Lake Tahoe. Vancouver, BC. He would take my mother along on each of these trips. In his own words, “I was in the top percentile of the entire country to win those trips.” He says they’re going to mean something, to somebody, and that I should “keep them in the family”. I’ll probably just put them in storage.
Environmental impacts of business travel
For service-based organisations, business travel and aviation are the biggest contributors to their total emissions, often above the collective carbon footprint of their offices. Air travel impacts the local environment through increased nitrogen pollutants, particulates and noise levels.
Companies across the spectrum discovered an unexpected benefit of grounding their employees during the pandemic: a lowering of carbon emissions from business travel.
Many businesses are announcing new promises to reduce (and offset) business travel emissions as a way to reach their sustainability goals. Only one in four organizations consider their “carbon footprint” to be a top priority.
Employee wellbeing
Environmental impact is not the only pitfall of business travel. A World Bank study showed that 75% of staff reported high or very high stress related to business travel. Americans took more than 500 Million business trips in 2016. (Harvard Business Review)
Stress, sleep interruption, unhealthy eating and drinking, and lack of exercise are all common factors of business travel burnout. The odds of being obese are 92% higher for those who traveled 21 or more nights per month, compared to those who traveled only one to six nights per month
Business travel could mean traveling to company HQ abroad
I recently wrote about my personal return to the office experience. With much of the knowledge workforce still remote, and business travel at an indefinite standstill, the show must go on. As such, large annual company offsite meetings may now turn into ONSITE meetings. This entails all of the domestic (or international) staff flying into the company headquarters to “reconnect”. If that would prove too difficult, employee visits to the headquarters could be staggered.
Take advantage of a geographically diverse team
Distributed teams have been the lifeblood of tech businesses since the dawn of the internet. The model was much harder to achieve before global telecommunications. So why is remote work such a hard concept to justify, when your engineering team is already in India, your HR team is in London, and your office is in New York City?
In many businesses, regions are divided up by time zones. For example, The Americas, EMEA and APAC.
What we forget, however, is that these also represent shared time zones. For instance, someone in Bogota, Columbia could work the same hours as a colleague in New York. The same with Lagos, Nigeria for London, or Tokyo for Sydney. Location bias doesn’t have to be a concept anymore.
Distributed workforce could be opportunity for businesses to extend their reach
The other benefit of a distributed workforce is the ability to meet customers where they are, and *when* they are. The pre-crisis world had executives flying all over the world for “face time”. As a requirement of the role, this lifestyle was popular for some, but not for all. For instance, working parents were often strained to find child care or juggle their home life while on the road.
Instead of this, why not embrace decentralized command by briefing the representatives located closest to customers to meet them on their terms? This tactic has been used by regional sales teams for decades, and can be extended to any aspect of business.
To be an effective leader, regular check-ins and ensuring decentralized command is important
Remote work calls for a different kind of management style. Gone are the “hall monitor” management days of the “Bill Lumberg” character looking over the shoulders of staff. We live in an age with a broad amount of productivity platforms that can be accessed anywhere in the world.
Instead of a checklist, an idea for status meetings is to set milestones beyond “next steps”. It’s important to teach core concepts, set an agenda, and train “microleaders” to act as an extension of command. A robust project management tool can show visibility into tasks without constant Slack check-ins.
Temporary rental platforms are assigning importance to customers that are now permanently remote
You may have heard that “the office is not a place, it’s a concept”. This is more true than ever. We are at the point where opening a satellite office doesn’t require a multi-year lease. Even the most stalwart of commercial real estate companies are looking into an office-as-you-need model, mirroring companies like WeWork, Convene and Regus.
Finally, vacation rental platforms like AirBnB and VRBO realize the classic business model of working out of an expensive (or no-frills) hotel room isn’t that comfortable. Business travelers can book a vacation rental instead, and stay in a private house without neighbors who frequent the hotel bar keeping them up. Even better news? It’s cost-effective, too.
Traveling while working remotely is true freedom
With remote work, there’s no more “caboose trips” after a business conference. There’s no more sweating a flight delay because you have to be back in the office the next day. No more late nights figuring out your personal expenses vs. company expenses.
You can travel over a weekend, work or meet business contacts during the week, go to a different attraction each night, and fly out the next weekend. All on your own schedule. How cool is that?
DISCLAIMER: This article represents my personal views and not those of my employer or any affiliated organizations.
This past month, I did the unthinkable…
I made my return to office.
However, it was on my own terms, and of my own choice. After all, I was returning to NYC to see some friends and check on my belongings after far too long away.
How was the experience?
I prepared the night before, laid out my clothes, shaved, made sure all my belongings were in my backpack.
The next morning, I walked onto a subway which was about half the capacity it normally is. Felt kind of lonely, but thankfully there were no crazy happenings which come from mass crowds. Well, aside from the few people who refused to wear masks…
I peacefully walked off the subway, with a swing in my step as I proceeded to my first office visit. The receptionist checked me in, and I went upstairs.
Wow, what a beautiful space. It had feelings of WeWork in its heyday.
I greeted and met some coworkers for my first time. Set up my laptop as I had done in previous workspaces.
What was different?
There were far less people. This gave it a different feel than the office I “knew”.
However I actually appreciated the diminished capacity. There was very little “white noise” to distract from deep focus, even without earbuds in.
There was no in-person meetings to rush or be late to. Everything was on Zoom. My in-person interactions were on my terms. The office space even held a “hybrid” trivia happy hour, where some of us joined virtually, and others in real life.
What can a successful hybrid model look like?
There’s been a lot of talk of how we need a “hybrid model” to move forward with the return to office.
What does that even mean?
For many companies, that means making all staff return to the office 2-3 days a week. That’s not truly hybrid work. That’s flexible work-from-home.
A true hybrid model would give the choice for some of the staff to come in-person, and some to work remotely (permanently). This model most benefits our post-pandemic transition, as it limits office capacity to only what’s necessary.
It gives working moms the choice to get employer-provided childcare, and join in-office if they wish. Or, for those same moms to work from home (or wherever they wish), being home for sick kids or taking care of time-draining errands.
What are the challenges of return to office?
As with any crisis, a snappy shift from one extreme to the other can cause a lot of trouble. We might think “back to normal” for a return to office will be easy.
Let’s also think about all the workers who’ve left their given careers for lack of work, voluntarily or involuntarily.
We have one of the worst worker “shortages” in decades due to this.
The MTA subway staff in New York used to run at least 6 trains per hour. Now they only have the capacity to run 2-3. What is that going to look like when there’s a mass return of people to NYC?
How about lunch? While restaurants are running with 1/3 of their normal staff, how long will getting food take?
Will traffic administration be able to deal with a new influx of single-person commuter cars?
Before the crisis, I had a daily commute to Times Square. It was an improvement on previous years, when I’d travel from Brooklyn to “the city” proper. I was now living in the Financial District at the south end of Manhattan. My alarm would go off at 7 AM. I’d sometimes get a chance to go on a ultra-quick jog, before my shower (7:30). After showering, I’d throw on my clothes, scarf down a yogurt and a cup of coffee (8:00).
I’d then speed walk the 20 minutes to the subway train (8:20). Once on the train, I’d hopefully make it to my stop in 30 minutes (8:50). Some days, the train would be delayed for up to an hour. (9:50). Either way, I’d be speed-walking through the Times Square crowds, getting into the office out of breath with scrambled thoughts.
This would be similar for someone who commuted by car (which I once did). The difference is that they’d be worried about wrecking their vehicle in a fender bender, versus avoiding characters and bodily injury.
Do People Actually Want to Go Back to the Office?
There have been a lot of articles recently reminiscing about the commute. The status quo says “people miss the office environment”, but data often points to the opposite, that “workers prefer a hybrid office model”.
Research has also shown that workers are more productive when working remotely, with most managers agreeing to the same.
Many companies that flirted with the idea of long-term remote work are now calling employees back. Some have slated a return to office as early as this summer.
Another frequent nod, “With remote work, there is no separation between work and home life”. Why do we feel we need to be forced to commute, vs. making that time for ourselves?
Take a Break from your Devices
When you worked in the office, how long did you stare at your computer screen before taking a break? Probably 30 minutes. You walked over to a coworker to ask a question, or stopped by the kitchen to grab a snack.
Why is working at home any different?
An estimated 58% of people who work on computers experience “Computer Vision Syndrome”. The symptoms include eye strain, blurred vision, headaches, neck and back pain.
Lucky for you, there’s ways to mitigate this. Like me, you could purchase prescription (or non-prescription) blue light glasses. If you work on a Macbook Pro, there is a feature called Night Shift. It’s quite easy. You can also set when it turns on, “Sunset to Sunrise”, turn it on manually, and select the color temperature.
Just click on the Apple Icon > System Preferences > Displays > Night Shift
Time Management
With no commutes, there has been a time shift. Some people do not realize this.
If you’re working in a different time zone (Pacific, for example), you’re starting your work day 3 hours earlier than the East Coast.
Let’s say you start your work day at 8 AM PST, that’s 11 AM EST.
If you end your work day at 2 PM PST, that’s 5 PM EST.
However, you have only worked for 6 hours, not a full 8 hour day.
Instead of going to run errands, why not power it out and finish your day at 4 PM PST?
Commutes are Bad for the Environment (Poor Health, Wasted Gas & Electricity, Pollution)
This may seem obvious, but commutes by vehicle or train are extremely harmful to the environment.
Studies show that the average drive to work adds 4.3 metric tons of carbon to the atmosphere a year, per car.
People with longer commutes tend to be less physically active. They also have higher rates of obesity and high blood pressure.
I was personally gobsmacked, when the MTA announced they’d be bleaching subway trains every night at the dawn of the virus.
How often was it cleaned before then? What kind of microscopic virii were floating around the subway car?
These are a few (of many) risks that workers will face in the return to the office.
The Importance of Setting Boundaries at Home
If you co-habit with a family, significant other, or roommate, working from home can be a strain. It does not have to be, as long as you keep distance between yourself and your “boarding mates”.
Being a parent is a whole other ball game. However, balancing structure and play for your kids is a good idea. If you’re driving eachother nuts, go outside for a bit, or recommend they go outside to play.
Many people have a “home office” room where they lock themselves away, and yet their kids or dogs still find a way into their lap. What if you actually created your working space outside? During warmer months, you could work from the garage or even the garden shed if you wanted to.
If you work from a laptop, creating a mobile workspace is also an idea. Move around the house. I’ve used any variety of surfaces as a desk – The kitchen table, a recliner, the garden table, even wide window ledges (as a standing desk).
As the crisis comes to an end, it’s more likely that you’ll work out of a coffee shop or a co-working space within your own neighborhood.
Recommended for Remote Work:
So do you see? It’s not so bad.
There will be a need for companies to subsidize remote working office setups. It pays for itself as those workers may not be using office resources (office equipment, printers, snacks, etc.). There are even companies dedicated to working from home, like WFH Zone UK.
Much of the workforce has now had a taste of remote working. The likelihood they’ll want to go back to an outdated, 20th century office is highly unlikely.
DISCLAIMER: This article represents my personal views and not those of my employer or any affiliated organizations.
If few like the traditional office environment, why would we go back to it?
What even is an office? You go to an office every day. Where are the roots of office culture?
At its most basic parts: “An office is that part of business enterprise which is devoted to the direction and co-ordination of its various activities.” No part of that definition which mentions it needs to be conducted in a physical space.
What’s the future of the office?
Office Culture Through the Ages
The word office stems from the Latin word “officium“. Interestingly, an officium was not a place, but rather an often mobile ‘bureau’, in the sense of a human staff.
Offices began in classical antiquity as part of a large palace or temple. The “chancery” rose in the Middle Ages as a place where most governmental letters and laws were written. In the 18th century, large conglomerate companies first came about, requiring many offices for clerks. Flat-top desks actually began around this time, as a way for managers to easily see activities of employees. By the 1950’s, it became clear that privacy had to come along with discretion, and we got the cubicle.
Workplace culture in the 1950’s was much more hierarchical, and soon cubicles started to be denigrated by workers as “little boxes”, while upper management received the corner offices. That brought us to the “open office” layout, now the de facto standard for major companies around the world.
And yet, “the office” has both positive and negative connotations.
For many people, the office is a separate environment from home, where they can relieve themselves from the pressures of home life and focus on work. Many modern companies also have a fully stocked kitchen with snacks and drinks on-the-house. Some even regularly get catering at no charge to the employee.
You have to live in close proximity to the metropolitan area your office is in. You lose maybe 2, even 3 hours of commuting time on the way to and from work. You have to attend events and office gatherings as well, which you’re not formally compensated for. In doing this, you lose time to see your significant other or kids.
COVID-19 heralds a new era. It represents all kinds of other risks and precautions to be taken. As workers return to offices in 2021, you may see temperature checks, one-way walking paths, assigned seating during meetings, and plexiglass shields everywhere. Simply riding the elevator presents a whole other kind of conundrum.
Offices just don’t make sense anymore.
What Does the Future of the Office Look Like?
Shows like the Jetsons imagined a future where George Jetson went to work in a flying car that fit into a suitcase, to an office where a boss remotely checked in on him via telescreens. While we may not be driving flying cars, they were not too far off with remote working. Unlike the TV show, there’s no reason to micromanage someone OR force them to come into an office. Post-pandemic, it seems common sense that eliminating large office spaces and not forcing commutes creates huge savings in both overhead costs and productivity.
Okay. So What are Some Solutions?
The Home is the New Office: Here’s an obvious one. Many companies are subsidizing office equipment for employees’ homes. Of course, there are certain things or equipment that couldn’t be included there.
Co-Working Space: Companies could keep a shared space for those who wanted to come in. This space could house equipment or services employees couldn’t use at home. Spaces like Convene can be rented out on short notice. There are also reports that furnished apartmentsare growing in use by remote workers visiting cities.
“Hot Desks”: An expansion on the co-working space idea, hot desking allows employees to use the same space at different times of the day. This could be an even bigger cost savings for smaller companies, in cities where real estate costs are high. Read more on how cities are changing here.
“3-2-2” Work Weeks: Following the themes above, many have advocated for 3 days in the office, 2 days working remote, and 2 days off. In-office staff’s calendars could be staggered to meet office capacity limitations.
Quarterly Conferences (Virtual or In-Person): With “Zoom fatigue” setting in, in-person interactions are still valuable. Every quarter, companies could hold in-person conferences where staff drive in, or fly in, to convene one-on-one about the events of the next quarter. In early stages, the seats could be spaced out and the majority of the time would be spent in breakout rooms. I just attended my first virtual conference, which included group activities, breakout sessions, and more.
Regional Segmentation Will Matter Less
When a workforce is spread across the globe, it is important to break it into manageable regions. That is here to stay. However, remote working opens up bandwidth. Workers in North America will share time zones with their South American counterparts. European times are adjacent to African/Middle Eastern times. And Asian times largely overlap with India and Australia. For example: If someone from your New York office takes an extended trip to Bogota, Colombia, they will be on a relatively unchanged time schedule. In a recent article, I laid out the common sense reasons and cost savings to move to the Midwest.
Flexible Hiring & Time Off
Flexible vacation is a growing benefit of many companies. While it’s not truly “unlimited”, as long as you have your manager’s approval, you can take the time off. There’s stats upon stats about how working mothers should not have to end their career because of a pregnancy, but have the best of both worlds: driving their career and parenting from home.
An uptick in temporary maternity and paternity leave policies has also meant a continually shifting workforce. This opens up space to bring on freelancers, or allow colleagues to try new disciplines while those workers are away. It could also open up regional opportunities for, say, someone in Santiago, Chile or Buenos Aires, Argentina to work with a team in New York. There would also be less limitations on hiring outside the major world commerce hubs, for example, in oft-overlooked regions like “Middle America”, “The North of England”, or in Pacific island countries for Asia-Pacific.
Not Everyone Will Want to Work Remotely
There are certain people who will want to come into an office – Parents who need a separate working environment, as well as those who have a small dwelling and need extra space to work, free of distractions. Some people find working remotely to be isolating or disorienting. At the same time, companies are seeing the need to deliver increased autonomy and trust to workers to fit their lifestyle.
Conclusion
Sprawling cubicles of yesteryear are left to “Dilbert” and the dustbin of history. The overhead costs of keeping an office open, and the pain of a commute and daycare for working parents makes ditching the office an obvious choice. In the 21st century, professionals are remote-ready and in-person interactions should be on their time.
The workplace evolved over centuries of history, why should it stop now?
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