With the COVID-19 pandemic winding down, many companies have started planing for getting their workers back into the office. They are, if you’ll forgive the hackneyed cliché, like dinosaurs after the meteor hit wondering how to get things back to normal. But the old days aren’t coming back and the companies most likely to survive the post pandemic world understand this and are planning for it.
A case in point is Airbnb. Rather than asking how they can get their workers to return to the office, they’re asking how they can leverage what they learned about remote work during the pandemic to hire and retain the best possible people. Their CEO, Brian Chesky, just announced Airbnb’s plan for the new order.
The TL;DR is that virtually everyone in the company can work anywhere they like within the country they’re currently working in without a change in compensation. That includes, for those inclined, a return to the office. Chesky also recognizes the importance of face-to-face interaction so they’re planning (at least) quarterly get-togethers.
There’s more involved in the Airbnb plan, of course. Here’s Chesky’s summary:
- 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
Which sort of company would you rather invest in: a company like Airbnb that accepts and plans for the new reality or a company that obsesses over how to force employees back into the office? Who would you rather work for: a CEO who says I trust you to work as you always have or a CEO who thinks that if he takes his eyes off you for a second you’ll start goofing off? Put that way, the questions answer themselves.