The traditional office model, once a cornerstone of business, is undergoing a seismic shift. Remote work, once a fringe concept, is now a mainstream reality. This transformation is driven by technological advancements, shifting employee expectations, and a growing recognition of its numerous benefits. It's time to fully embrace the potential of remote work and unlock a new era of productivity, innovation, and employee satisfaction.
In one of my favorite articles I’ve read in a while, Joe Procopio writes: The Return-to-Office Productivity Argument Is Over: Hammering the last nail into the return-to-office mandate coffin in a way that everyone can understand. In this subtly hilarious article, Mr. Procopio compares the remote work argument to an argument over whether or not we should all go back to wearing suits in the office. On one hand, we could argue that wearing a suit makes you feel more productive as you’re clearly “meaning business” in your coat and tie. On the other hand, many would argue that being comfortable in your clothes at work will make you more productive. Essentially, there is no right or wrong answer here, but I love that the comparison of forcing people to come back to work in an office together every week is likened to wearing a stuffy, uncomfortable suit every day. It seems so perfect.
Talent Acquisition and Retention
One of the most compelling arguments for remote work is its impact on talent acquisition and retention. In a competitive job market, companies must offer modern value propositions to attract and retain top talent. Remote work options provide an unparalleled advantage: access to a global pool of skilled professionals. By removing geographical constraints, businesses can tap into a wider talent pool, hiring the best individuals regardless of their location.
Remote work also can foster a sense of autonomy and flexibility, two factors that are highly valued by many members of today's workforce. Employees who have the freedom to work from anywhere often experience increased job satisfaction, leading to higher morale, reduced turnover, and improved productivity.
Furthermore, you may have seen a recent headline touting that most companies who mandated workers to return to the office in the last few years were actually hoping for people to quit. It was a tactical move for them to avoid layoffs. So it seems reasonable to me to correlate the opposite to this study’s findings. If companies were demanding in-office presence in hopes that it would make people so unhappy that they would quit their jobs, is it then also accurate to think that allowing people to continue working from where they want will make them happier and make them want to stay with those companies for longer terms?
At Unmarked Street, we work from all corners of the country and we’ve recently added a crucial role to our team, based out of the UK. Interviewing and hiring into open roles with a remote-first business culture allows me to access the best in our industry, not just the best in my general vicinity. As our team has grown and progressed over the years, I also find that we produce better work for our clients through this lens. Our team is happy being able to live near friends and family, they are satisfied to work on their own schedules within their own time zones, and we see long futures in being able to keep them on our team for years to come.
Cost Efficiency and Productivity
Contrary to what some believe, remote work can significantly enhance a company's bottom line. By eliminating the need for physical office space, businesses can reduce overhead costs associated with rent, utilities, and maintenance. Additionally, remote employees often report increased productivity due to fewer distractions and a more flexible work schedule.
Moreover, remote work can lead to reduced absenteeism. Employees are less likely to miss work due to illness or other personal obligations when they have the flexibility to work from home. This translates to increased efficiency and reduced operational costs.
Let’s put an example against this. We just moved from California, where the cheapest (although tiny) office location for rent went for $2,500 per month. That’s $30,000 per year that I saved just in rent alone by making my company a remote-first business. Now add office furniture, utilities, signage, cleaning fees, and I haven’t even mentioned the possibility of something needing to be repaired or installed. If your business could save over $30,000 a year while increasing employee productivity, what might be holding you back?
The Biggest Argument: Communication
The number one reason we hear from potential clients on why remote is not for them is their fear of daily communication issues. How will we properly be able to communicate with them when we’re not all in the same room together every day? And to be honest, this is also my biggest issue with working 100% remote at our company. The ability to pop over to someone’s desk to ask a question or overhear a conversation that you can lend insight to is highly valuable. However, for me at least, it doesn’t outweigh the positives of working remotely, and we have been able to leverage incredible solutions to overcome my concerns.
Communication is genuinely my top priority. As a previous department manager, I put communication above all else on my team’s plate. I used to say, “If you do nothing else in a day but respond to all of your emails in a timely and professional manner, then I consider that day a complete success.” Keeping communication first has always been my personal brand, so we take it extremely seriously here at Unmarked Street as well.
First, the use of the right communication tools allow our remote team to build strong collaborative environments with our clients. While remote work absolutely requires a calculated approach, we use apps for instant messaging, video conferencing, and project management that sometimes makes us even faster than waiting for us all to be in a room together. We hold daily or weekly team meetings, as needed, and make ourselves available in Slack at all times. (Ok, just during working hours).
As a corporate dropout, I can recall days at a time when my managers or leadership teams would be booked in meeting after meeting after meeting. We would go hours or sometimes days before we could get time with them to proceed with a crucial decision or project. So I question whether this in-office, meeting-centric culture is actually serving us when we have communication concerns.
Have you ever Slacked a colleague who was sitting right next to you because they had their headphones on, or you needed to document a note in writing instead of betting they would remember exactly how they responded to your question weeks later? I have! I know many of you have, too. So what are we saving by insisting those two people sit next to each other in an office instead of in the comfort of their own home?
So much of this also comes down to trust. If you trust your team members, communication becomes easier. And while it can be more challenging to get to know your colleagues from a remote location, building those relationships is crucial. We encourage weekly one-on-one meetings and team events one or two times a year to foster these opportunities better.
Equal Opportunities for Women
According to a recent Forbes article, ‘The system is not working for women’: Companies with return-to-office mandates are hemorrhaging female talent, it is clear that flexible working arrangements, while proving to be an ideal plan for everyone, are heavily leaned on by women. As women continue to take on the majority of household responsibilities in addition to their jobs, it is more and more important to offer flexible working environments to maintain females in leadership positions.
Statistics show that women who lead teams and companies create immensely positive results for those businesses. Team morale is higher, but so are revenues and stock prices. Bleeding your top female talent in the name of calling everyone into a central location is not only detrimental to your bottom line, but it’s also a huge step backward in the progress we need to make in offering equal opportunities to women in the C-Suites.
Environmental Impact
The shift towards remote work has a potentially positive impact on the environment as well. By reducing the number of people commuting to and from work, companies could help to significantly lower their carbon footprint. Remote work also contributes to reduced energy consumption and waste generation associated with traditional office spaces. As environmental sustainability becomes an increasingly important factor for consumers and investors, embracing remote work can enhance a company's reputation as a responsible corporate citizen.
I used to sit in my car, alone, for an hour and forty minutes every day (fifty minutes each way) when I commuted to our corporate office in California (before I started my consulting company). I bought gas every week and had to take my car in for expensive maintenance appointments every 9 months. By driving that much, additional brake dust and tire wear contribute massively to microplastics entering our water and food supply and ultimately, our blood stream.
Now, my car requires gas maybe once a month. I take it in for its annual oil change not because I’ve met my mileage limit for that period, but because I’m supposed to do it at least once a year. I rarely drive my car, choose to walk or ride my bike to run errands when I can and show significant signs of reduced anxiety by avoiding angry drivers, heavy traffic and constant road rage from others.
Fostering Innovation and Creativity
Remote work can be a catalyst for innovation and creativity. When employees are not confined to a physical office, they are exposed to different perspectives, cultures, and work environments. This diversity of experiences can spark new ideas and foster a more collaborative and inclusive work culture. Additionally, remote work often encourages employees to take ownership of their projects and find innovative solutions to challenges.
When we were all asked to shelter-in-place in March of 2020, the apparel industry had two options. Stop operations or figure out how to run fittings, meetings and product reviews remotely. Almost everyone I’ve talked to proceeded with the latter, coming up with innovative solutions to keep things moving forward.
Recently, I find that the majority of companies are scrapping all of that innovation, demanding that workers start coming back into offices and insisting on colocation for teams. At Unmarked Street, we continue to push the boundaries of this innovation, honing in on the remote model to streamline processes and create need for decisiveness, accuracy and timeliness. We are helping our clients get through fit rounds faster, create better fitting garments and set clearer seasonal goals.
What is Your Preference?
I know some people who hate working from home, and would prefer that everybody was in the office with them every day. I know even more people who love to have the option of going into an office or staying home on their own schedule. Have a day when you’re feeling stir crazy inside your house? Head to the office! Not feeling like getting in the car and dealing with an accident on the roads? Take advantage of your option to stay home.
While there are undoubtedly challenges associated with fully remote work, the potential benefits are quite significant. By embracing this new way of working, businesses can unlock a world of opportunities and position themselves for long-term success. In years to come at Unmarked Street, I do think I’d like to offer a fully hybrid, open and flexible model to my team. When we have a bigger budget to rent an office space, I’d love to invite them to be there whenever it works best for them, but there is never an expectation of it.
The key to doing this well though, in my opinion, is learning how to be fully remote as the primary goal. After we’ve mastered our processes and communication skills in a 100% remote environment, it could be a big cherry on top to get to see each other more often. Not necessary for our work, but desired because our culture has fostered respect, trust and openness to our team’s needs.
If you could work with a team that reduces your overhead by tens of thousands of dollars a year, simplifies processes to reduce stress and delivers a better product to you in the end, why would you continue pushing for old, traditional methods? I am honestly open to hearing all sides!
What are your thoughts on remote work? Share your experiences and insights in the comments below.
You can also check out our YouTube video on the subject, where I make my argument for remote Fashion Industry workplaces:
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