In a Work-from-Anywhere World, How Remote Will Workers Go?

Excerpt from hbswk.hbs.edu

Will professionals still choose cities if they have the option to work from the beach? Research by Prithwiraj Choudhury considers the radical ripple effects of remote work.

The American workforce has always migrated, moving wherever the jobs took them—traditionally, away from small towns and toward big cities. Now, as an increasing number of workplaces embrace remote work and allow people the flexibility to live where they choose, the employment and living landscape is poised for a drastic, historic change, says Harvard Business School Professor Prithwiraj Choudhury.

What’s more, the normalization of virtual work that began with the COVID-19 pandemic is creating meaningful perks for local economies, allowing countries and regions to attract talent, reverse brain drain from the suburbs, and redefine demographics in many locations, says Choudhury, the Lumry Family Associate Professor at HBS.

In The Changing Geography of Work: Priorities for Policy Makers, published recently by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, Choudhury discusses the benefits of the “work-from-anywhere” movement for both companies and workers.

“There’s been brain drain from small towns into large urban clusters, but I don’t think we have seen the spatial redistribution that we could potentially see because of work from anywhere,” says Choudhury.

When employees can’t move for a job

Choudhury emphasizes the pain points that occur when company requirements and personal autonomy clash: Employees often can’t move for an in-person position due to a spouse’s career, immigration challenges, or cost-of-living restrictions that make certain locations unaffordable.

 

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