Significant changes ahead: A recent
McKinsey study found that more than 20% of the workforce could work remotely 3–5 days a week as effectively as if they were in an office, meaning a total of 3–4 times as many people may work from home in the future. Companies are assessing the impact this would have on transportation, real estate footprint, and even compensation, with Facebook and other tech companies suggesting pay cuts for remote workers in low cost of living areas. (A November
Indeed survey found that 60% of tech workers would be willing to take such a cut to work remotely permanently.)
Debates around inequality will only intensify as the nation divides into “haves” (knowledge and tech workers with good connectivity and the ability to work remotely) and the “have nots” (more than half the current workforce, often in low-wage jobs already vulnerable to automation, with no ability to work from home).
Our West Coast Future of Work Seminar (for CHROs only) on “Culture, Productivity, and Innovation in the Age of Mobility” will explore these issues and more in a two-day virtual format. The session (see agenda here) will feature panels on creating culture in a mobile environment, how to maintain productivity and competitive edge, the real estate impact of a hybrid return to work model and employment and compensation implications of the new normal. Register here to save your spot for the meeting, which will be held February 1-2 and hosted by the Association’s Future of Work Committee led by Tracy Keogh, HP Inc. and Ashley Goldsmith, Workday.
