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2025 Update: The original post was written some years ago. Return To Office (RTO) has been a big topic since then. Some think it’s silent layoffs rather than a real regression in mindset. Either way, things didn’t go the way I expected.
It’s clear that the modern workforce is evolving, and one of the changes you see more and more is the all-remote or remote-first mindset. COVID has played a significant role in this, but some companies already worked this way before that. An interesting example is GitLab. The reason I think GitLab is so interesting is that they are very public about all their processes and documentation, more specifically, their Remote Manifesto.
The non-linear workday and non-judgemental culture is an interesting concept that I’ve never seen described explicitly like this before. It’s classic to see companies that don’t enforce specific working hours, but at the same time, it is also implied that you are available between certain hours. Without having specific guidelines and expectations, you’ll very quickly notice that the workforce will tend towards the ‘norm’ of a 9 to 5 again.
I very much feel like this is only the start and companies that embrace remote-first are at the forefront of this change. It’s interesting to see what this will lead to in the coming years.