Millions of Americans are quitting their jobs and rethinking what they want when it comes to work and work-life balance. Companies are responding, meeting their employees’ needs in areas like remote work, flexible hours, four-day workweeks, compensation and more. This story is part of a series looking at the “Great Reshuffle” and the shift in workplace culture taking place right now, reports CNBC.
The work-from-anywhere policy
While some U.S.-based employees, have used the work-from-anywhere policy to travel, others simply work from where they live. Today, Coalition Technologies’ more than 250 workers are spread out across the globe — from the U.S., Canada and Mexico to India, Germany and South Africa.
The tech company’s policy was borne out of a need to compete against larger firms for talent, said president Jordan Brannon.
Founded in 2009, Coalition Technologies has been remote-first for nearly a decade — a decision that was driven largely by traffic in Los Angeles, where the company was based. As more big tech firms moved into the area, dubbed Silicon Beach, Brannon and his team had to start looking for workers in other cities, states and countries.
“When we’re up against well-funded, VC-funded, publicly traded companies and startups, we really have to be able to source talent in a way that allows us to continue to grow without having, necessarily, a short-term profit objective for shareholders,” Brannon said.
Issues with work-from-anywhere jobs
To be sure, work-from-anywhere jobs are uncommon, according to career website FlexJobs. About 95% of remote jobs require employees to be based in a specific location, it found. Geographic requirements may be based on state, city, country or even regions of the country.
There are legal and tax issues to consider, as well as time-zone differences and the ability to be available for in-person staff or client meetings.
Multiple time-zones is one of the biggest challenges facing Coalition Technologies, Brannon said. Most clients are in the U.S. eastern time zone, so schedules for some workers have to shift. They also use a common calendar where employees can sync schedules and coordinate meetings.
The management team also deals with legal, tax and financial issues stemming from the different work locations. For instance, there are regional adjustments for pay based on cost-of-living in a particular area, but there is also the opportunity to earn additional pay based on a team’s performance.
Little things mean a lot
Yet the trade-off is worth it, Brannon said. Not only does it help the company compete for workers, employees are happy. It also enables Coalition Technologies to bring more talented people to client accounts and projects, and staff up quickly since there is a large pool of candidates to choose from, he noted.
“This is something we’ve been committed to for a decade and we don’t have any reason to change,” he said.
Thompson expects to eventually make the U.S. her home again, although she doesn’t know exactly where she’ll land. For now, she’ll stay based in Jamaica, where she can help out with family members, as well continue her travels.
“All of those little things mean a lot,” she said.
“They’re very immeasurable ways to spend your time in which you otherwise couldn’t in a more rigid job structure.”
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Source: CNBC
