There has been a lot of news lately about companies such as Twitter and Facebook announcing they will continue to allow their employees to work remotely for the remainder of the year. It doesn’t stop there either. Many companies are also considering making their remote workforce a permanent solution.
CEO’s have listed many reasons for this consideration from the amount of overhead they will save on rent, electricity etc. to the global access of talented employees that it opens up. Others have cited being prepared for the next pandemic or pointed to the numerous studies indicating a happier and more productive workforce.
Whatever their reasons may be, the consideration to make their remote workforces permanent are real and it would be safe to assume they are not the only organizations considering making such changes permanent. This may be good news to some technology companies but has many other ramifications that will need to be considered. For example, a large portion of the tax base for urban areas derives from the renting and ownership of office space and the industries that surround the commercial real estate industry. If all of these organizations decided to leverage a remote workforce at the same time it would be devastating to their Municipalities and the commercial real estate industry.
We are living in complicated times and will need to work hard to come up with creative solutions to the problems this new reality has brought with it. Additionally, we will need to remain diligent in our understanding of how the new solutions we implement will affect the rest of the economy as we move into the future.