WFH Can Change the World
When I joined my husband and partner of all things in 2015 to reshape Gallardo Labs, we built our entire business model around a fully remote working culture. We honestly saw no other way. Just like companies are beginning to see no alternative now because of this pandemic, we saw no alternative then, because of life. True innovation starts with questions. We began to question things that had never been questioned before.
The Questions We Should All Be Asking
Why do we have to search for talent within an hour’s drive away from our physical location? Imagine if when you are searching on Google, you could only look at results that were posted within an hour’s distance away from you…
If we know it takes someone close to 30 minutes to refocus after getting interrupted, why do we force creatives (whose actual job is to think and create), to sit in an open work environment that is entirely built to encourage interruptions?
Why do we cram all our thinking into 9 to 5? What about people like me, who wake up at 4 am with an idea (this article is a perfect example) or enjoy pulling all-nighters in what we at GL like to call “mad-scientist’ mode?
Why do parents feel like they have to choose between designing a better future and raising the future generation?
Why are we forcing constant groupthink when all major innovations happened while the inventor was alone and deep in their own thoughts?
Why are we spending billions of advertising dollars on campaigns and websites about saving the environment, yet we are getting in our cars every day and commuting hours in polluted traffic to sit in an office, doing the same job we could’ve done from anywhere?
Why are we spending all our time “thinking outside the box”, while literally sitting inside a box? Side note: the word cubicle makes me shudder. Extra side note: who decided to make them all beige?
Why do we feel ashamed professionally to claim we want work/life balance? We’ve learned that when our team’s life is balanced, the stars align, the creative juju flows, and the work produced is nothing less than solid gold.
Why is our value as digital professionals dependent on how many hours we are present in the office, even if our most important thoughts and decisions are made outside of it?
If our clients are all over the world, why aren’t we?
Now, let’s think bigger…
If there are tools that allow us to get our education, skills, and experiences from anywhere, why do borders still dictate how much money we make?
Why do we allow companies to morally pay web designers, writers, and marketing professionals $2/hr? And the bigger question, what would happen if we didn’t allow it anymore?
If the work we do is digital, fluid, and worldly, then why are our very short lives dictated by the location of our workplace? We move there, make our kids go to school there, form relationships there, and spend our hard-earned money there. If the technology exists (which it obviously does), why can’t we just live where we want to live because we want to live there?
Why are we all confined to one place, trying so hard to create cultural diversity? Why can’t we just spread out and be truly culturally diverse?
Like Facebook, Shopify, and the many other tech giants who will hopefully follow suit, Gallardo Labs’ remote WFH culture was born out of necessity.
The shift by companies to WFH today was forced by a global pandemic, economic shut-down, and a need to save lives. Naturally, as with anything forced, there is resistance, fear, and uncertainty. It concerns me that companies will go remote as a band-aid solution to COVID-19 instead of really thinking how we, as a society, can seize this opportunity to reset the rules and solve major global issues.
Back in 2015, my partner and I saw different needs. And yes, I recognize that we were fortunate enough to be able to think clearly, without a deadly virus hanging over our heads.
We saw the need to find talent without seeing borders, offer sustainable digital experience design to our clients, equalize the global standard of living for our team members, fill the industry, cultural, and relationship gaps, and ultimately balance lives.
With or without social distancing in our future, if organizations take the time today to ask themselves the questions above and develop remote work solutions that are bigger than just letting their employees work from home, we can make the world a better place to live.
Let that sink in.
Not only your city.
Not only your country.
Together we can make the ENTIRE world a better place to live.
Now…what questions will you be asking?
Gallardo Labs is a fully remote digital experience agency. We’re a global team of strategic thinkers and designers, continuously redefining what’s possible with creativity, technology, and heart. The people who work here are passionate about collaborating with forward-thinking partners, helping them discover their true potential, and reimagine a better world. Work with us on all things digital-from transforming the way you work to creating user-friendly digital products, eCommerce websites, social communities, and brands that people love.
Originally published at https://blog.gallardolabs.com on May 26, 2020.
