The remote and nomadic worker is now well and truly cemented into the present and all our futures. If you’re a consultant, freelancer or entrepreneur of many kinds, this is likely no crazy news. However, a number of forces are now aggressively colliding, meaning this shift is sharply in view for every worker and for every company.
The rise and rise of Tech and the internet means we can connect and create from the smallest of devices and pretty much any location. Increasingly more of our work is executed online, our teams can be found chatting and exchanging water-cooler banter on Slack or FB and remote faceless meetings can be over in minutes with a simple Skype. All this could sound rather depressing, but in fact it’s leading us to somewhere incredibly bright and powerful.
The emergence of the co-working and co-living space (digital and real-life), along with startup incubators has already shown us that magic happens when serendipity steps in and binds highly skilled and highly motivated people. With more individuals looking to start their own business, the need to be around other like-minded people and the unearthing of specialized skill sets, all coupled makes the future of co-working proofed.
We need only to look at the exponential growth of incredibly successful companies that have been born out of this relatively new phenomenon. I’m sure you can look around your local community to see a number of examples of 2 people getting together with complimentary skills to create a side hustle that solves a real problem and BOOM, a great business is alive and kicking. If you need any more convincing that the workplace has changed, look here, here, here and here
There are a number of other factors that are coming together to fuel this beautiful work-blend we’re witnessing; Social and employer acceptance sees many-an-employee push for the right to work from “home”. And why not? If a normal office day is exchanging internal and external emails, populating spreadsheets and lunching at a desk, it makes complete sense for all stakeholders to green-light The New Way.
There are endless benefits to promoting remote working and remote teams, and those benefits compound. Generally it means a happier, more creative employee who can execute swiftly without distraction, with many also enjoying more flexibility in their day. Remote teams also result in significant economic gains for both sides; reduced commuting costs, increased productivity, lower overheads. And, if we look at companies that are fully embracing the opportunities and resources they have, we see individuals thriving in life, being able to operate remotely from anywhere in the globe they desire and executing their tasks at anytime in the day. As…Long…As…It…Gets…Done.
Finally, but not exhaustively, the trend of focusing on wholistic fulfillment will not be going away any-time-soon, and that’s a very very good thing. The modern worker wants to run, or go to Yoga in the morning, they NEED enough time to grab a coffee, they want to get home in time to make dinner for the kids and they most definitely demand progressive and empathetic leaders. A daily injection of the natural world, excitement and a vision of a blossoming future means that the nature of “work” and it’s location is going to be increasingly organic for infinity, NOW.
At As One, we build arenas to bring people together to create epicness. Our talks, workshops, film club and spaces are built to support, connect and inspire the creators, innovators and the curious.
Resources that may be of interest:
