Work From Anywhere – Douglas Ferracini

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) dominated 2020. Let’s work from home for a while as it is a rather contagious disease.

Mid/End of 2020:

Let’s stay at home, we can’t make concessions yet because the numbers of death keep increasing. But there is good news, a vaccine. We had to get used to meetings and more meetings held through cameras. Were we working from home? Yes, but there were adaptations. People who worked in large cities rethought their location, and in some cases moved to be closer to their families.

Q1 2021:

Start of vaccination in some countries, but still with high numbers of deaths from coronavirus.

Q2 and Q3 2021:

Vaccination cycle growing in certain countries and in certain cities worldwide. Death numbers begin to stabilize.

Q4 2021:

Beginning of an improvement in the pandemic situation (fewer deaths and advancement of vaccination). Discussions about the professional future (will the return to the offices exist?).

Q1 and Q2 2022:

Two years later, will we go back to what it was before covid, at the beginning of 2020? Yes or no? The beginning of the Great Resignation.

Today (Q3 and Q4 2022):

The disease is far from being eradicated, but there is some tranquility in the number of deaths, unfortunately with economic, social and political consequences after the pandemic. The WORK FROM ANYWHERE question.

Work From Anywhere, can I?

Introduction

Nobody can say 2020 and 2021 were easy years. No one alive had lived through a pandemic. And we can even say that the pandemic experienced in these years was the first truly global pandemic; there was, despite the information provided by certain countries, no country without cases, without some policy to deal with this, at the very least, “crazy reality” of the coronavirus disease.

But as human beings, we adapt. And in the business world it was no different. Yes, there were already some companies that did not have physical offices for all their employees. Or that made it possible for people to work in different places (even in different countries). However, the pandemic caused many people to move away from each other. Some people even moved and changed their lives, even keeping their old jobs. We have screens, and more screens. Distance meetings. Zoom, Skype and other apps.

However, things started to change in 2022. Offices started to reopen, and, in many cases, employees were called back to the offices. Was the world the same as in 2020? No! So, after adapting to another world during the pandemic times, does everyone need to get back to that 2020 reality? Traffic, expensive rents, long journeys away from home, socializing at the office not so good or important…

No, 2022 has not moved back to 2020 and the company that is not thinking about it, is not thinking about the future. What in the past was a benefit thought of as minor, today needs to be thought of as an effective company policy, the WORK FROM ANYWHERE.

In 2022, one of the first companies to make its global a Work From Anywhere policy official was Airbnb. Here (https://news.airbnb.com/airbnbs-design-to-live-and-work-anywhere/) the official note. Now, we have many others that have entered a hybrid model (part at the office, part at home) and say this is a Work from Anywhere… But in the end, what is this Work from Anywhere?

Let’s start with the following: it is possible to call a Work from Anywhere policy, any policy that makes the location of the work more flexible, but a real Work from Anywhere policy makes it possible (with few limitations) that the person is not in the same city, state and even country than the employer. A hybrid work week policy, with half working from home and half from the office, might be called a Work from Anywhere policy, but it really isn’t. A two-monthly presence policy in a particular location or a policy that limits the person to living completely in another country are better suited as Work from Anywhere policies.

As stated above, Airbnb was one of the first to make public the understanding of a Work from Anywhere policy and in this way brought some very important points about what this policy would be. In view of the news of the policy conveyed in the media, it is a good starting point for analysis.

“Airbnb’s design for employees to live and work from anywhere”

Many companies have posted the beginnings of their Work from Anywhere policies, but few make their policies publicly available (and that’s ok) or at least show what that policy will look like. Airbnb was an exception.

First, they were more direct calling it “Live and Work Anywhere”. Second, they put steps in their policy. As a global company, it wouldn’t be possible to put all the benefits at once. Third, not everything is absolute.

But let’s go directly analyzing the text of the news published by Airbnb itself (the red italic part is the original text and our comments in black). The entire text here – https://news.airbnb.com/airbnbs-design-to-live-and-work-anywhere/:

Live and work anywhere

We’ve designed a way for you to live and work anywhere—while collaborating in a highly coordinated way, and experiencing the in-person connection that makes Airbnb special. Our design has five key features:

1. You can work from home or the office

Each of us works best in our own ways, and we’re giving you the flexibility to make the right choice based on where you’re most productive. The vast majority of you will have this flexibility. A small number of roles will be required to be in the office or a specific location to perform their core job responsibilities, and those of you who have these roles have already been informed.

Before any policy, it’s important to communicate to the employees who needs to be at the office about everything. It’s important to align with these employees.

2. You can move anywhere in the country you work in and your compensation won’t change

Publicly, the project is to live in several countries, but in the first phase of Work from Anywhere, this only happens within countries.

This means you can move from San Francisco to Nashville, or from Paris to Lyon. You’ll have the flexibility to do what’s best for your life—whether that’s staying put, moving closer to family, or living in a place you’ve always dreamed of.

If you move, your compensation won’t change. Starting in June, we’ll have single pay tiers by country for both salary and equity. If your pay was set using a lower location-based pay tier, you’ll receive an increase in June. Before you move, make sure to talk to your manager about performance and time zone expectations, as well as your availability for team gatherings. Permanent international moves are much more complex, so we won’t be able to support those this year.

We know that within a country there are different costs of living. But the policy here is not one of equal pay. So, if you go somewhere cheaper, great for you. But if you go to a more expensive place or one that normally pays better within your area, at that time there is no salary change.

In additional, it is not openly said that management can limit the Work from Anywhere policy, but everything needs to be aligned beforehand.

Importantly, international moves (permanent or short term?) will not be supported for the first year.

3. You have the flexibility to travel and work around the world

Starting in September, you can live and work in over 170 countries for up to 90 days a year in each location. Everyone will still need a permanent address for tax and payroll purposes, but we’re excited to give you this level of flexibility. Most companies don’t do this because of the mountain of complexities with taxes, payroll, and time zone availability, but I hope we can open-source a solution so other companies can offer this flexibility as well.

While you’ll be responsible for getting proper work authorization, we’re actively partnering with local governments to make it easier for more people to travel and work around the world. Today, 20+ countries offer remote work visas, and more are in the works. While working from different locations isn’t possible for everyone, I hope everyone can benefit from this flexibility when the time is right.

This is a fundamental part, because the company will continue with its normal compensation process, it is simply opening the possibility that for a year the person will be out of the home country for 3 months. A lot of countries in the world do not consider the non-resident tax person staying 3 months away, so no change or responsibility for the “home country company”.

So, the person must remain a tax resident in the home country and in the moment they explain Most companies don’t do this because of the mountain of complexities with taxes, payroll, and time zone availability, but I hope we can open-source a solution so other companies can offer this flexibility as well, Here it is clear that the company will not be responsible for visas (and probably possible taxes in host countries).

The 20+ countries offer remote work visas, it is a part about Digital nomads. This is a reality today with more than 30 countries. Again, it is a visa in which the company must have zero involvement, having to be done 100% by an individual.

4. We’ll meet up regularly for team gatherings, off-sites, and social events

Being together to connect and collaborate has always been an essential part of our culture, and we’re doubling down on that. Instead of spending a set number of days in the office together, we’re prioritizing meaningful in-person gatherings that will happen throughout the year. Given that we’re still in a pandemic, there will be limited off-sites in 2022, but the Ground Control team is planning some special social events so you’ll still have opportunities to spend time together.

Next year, we’ll come together a lot more. Most of you should expect to gather in person every quarter for about a week at a time. Some roles, especially senior roles, will be expected to gather more often. We’ll do our best to define windows when most large team off-sites will occur and give you plenty of notice so you can make it work with personal and family plans. We’ll provide more details on all of this in the coming months. What makes our culture special is all of you, and I can’t wait for us to be together again.

Some physical presences aligned between months or quarters do not limit this policy.

5. We’ll continue to work in a highly coordinated way

To pull off this level of flexibility, we need ample structure and coordination. Without it, things would become a free-for-all. The backbone of how we operate will continue to be our single company calendar with our multi-year roadmap. It’s centered around two major product releases each year—a May release and a November release. Even though not everyone directly works on these product releases, we’re organizing our entire calendar around them to maintain company-wide alignment. Our collaboration sessions, off-sites, social events, and breaks will be planned in advance and designed around this calendar.

We’ll also continue to stay coordinated by primarily operating on Pacific Standard Time in the US. For those working outside of the US, you’ll stay on your current schedule.

To recap, here’s our design for living and working anywhere:

You can work from home or the office
You can move anywhere in the country you work in and your compensation won’t change
You have the flexibility to travel and work around the world
We’ll meet up regularly for gatherings
We’ll continue to work in a highly coordinated way

All companies that are adopting work from anywhere are based on this:

First, accepting the absolute home office, without the need for a physical presence in any office (since the person, within the country, can be in any state).

Second, allowing the person to be out of the country, within a limit of 90 days/year. However, no payroll changes and the person taking responsibility for any visa and additional taxation.

So, Work form Anywhere, can I really???

Many companies are pursuing the Work from Anywhere policy for talent retention. Given what Airbnb created, Airbnb’s careers page jumped from 400k to 800k visitors.

However, there are two factors that need to be analyzed separately:

Work from Anywhere in the same country: Some points should be raised here, such as labor legislation in each country regarding 100% remote work and no obligation to go to the office. With the pandemic this became normal in many places, however, with the “end” of the pandemic, many are being forced to return to physical work, even if it is in a hybrid model. Thus, the interest in a Work from Anywhere policy must abandon the hybrid and assume the remote, with no mandatory physical presence. In Brazil we are moving more towards to the hybrid model, but that does not mean that the full remote cannot exist. Salary differences within the same country are points that companies need to repair, as well as different taxation by states (e.g. the USA).

Work from Anywhere in other countries: When we talk about living in other countries, the eyes of those who see the Work Anywhere policy shine here. However, it is very interesting to be realistic with those who see this as a “the company will help me wherever I am” policy. The Work from Anywhere policy usually needs to adapt from country to country, however when Airbnb positioned itself on the matter it was very direct in the sense that it is possible, but:

-Limited to 90 days/year;

-Your payroll and remuneration will not change;

-Visas, bureaucracy and indirectly taxation is the employee’s responsibility.

Thus, the companies applying the Work from Anywhere policy is stating that their business will mostly be done within virtual meetings and within a specific time zone.

Finally, Work from Anywhere policies will still be talked about everywhere. Some going one way, some going the other. There are no absolute truths here, just some initial ideas. Discussion has been started and is open.