Work From Anywhere

CHAPTER 4TACKLING THE TOOLBOX

In April 2020, Gartner surveyed 317 CFOs and found 74 per cent intended to shift some employees to remote work permanently even after the restrictions created by COVID‐19 had passed. Research commissioned by software giant Atlassian shows that globally 46 per cent of workers wanted to have a mix of working from the office and working from home. This figure is extraordinary, with nearly half of workers seeking opportunities to continue greater flexibility. At Pragmatic Thinking, we conducted a State of Remote Work report¹ in September 2020 and found that 61 per cent of organisations will have staff continue to work from anywhere for the foreseeable future.

Work from anywhere (WFA) is no longer a people policy touted by the rising technology companies or the early adopters; it is a permanent strategy and conversation inside organisations regardless of industry. When an 80‐year manufacturing company such as Laminex embraces this methodology (refer to chapter 2), we know this is a space that all industries can explore. This is indeed a new frontier, a new adventure, which requires new skills and new tools.

You don't just need to ensure you have new tools in your toolkit; the new lay of the land also requires leaders to use the right tool for the right purpose. Because some of the strategies and policies that were in place for office‐based organisations ...