The Covid-19 pandemic forever changed how we work, live, and relate to one another. As the world begins to reopen and readjust to the “new normal,” our “Back to Normal” blog series will explore what that means for employers and their workforce, from returning to the office; to adjusting to new ways of working; to hiring, recruiting and retaining diverse talent. We hope this series serves as a lodestar for you as we all navigate this brave new world together.   

Even before the Covid-19 pandemic hit the United States in early 2020, ushering in a seemingly new era of remote work, the tech industry was already sold on the idea. For decades, information technology professionals provided tech support for American companies from afar. And that’s just one example of the many pre-pandemic remote work paradigms that existed in tech. Software developers, sales professionals, implementation techs—these roles were already performed outside of a central office environment—and the industry enthusiastically encouraged and supported individuals employed in these jobs working from any city, country, office or home, so long as the work got done.

There’s no question that the “work-from-anywhere” model is here to stay, especially in the wake of a pandemic that demonstrated it could be done, and done well by almost any office worker. And that new insight will shift talent sourcing and hiring in all industries, including tech, for many years to come. However, is remote work the best solution for all professions, especially those that require an atmosphere of collaboration, camaraderie, and creativity? While the evidence is clear that remote work can under the right circumstances enhance productivity, we can also already see that specific activities are more effective with in-person interaction, and when it comes to the creative process and relationship-building, there is no online replacement for in-person collaboration.

A Brief History of Tech Hubs

Before examining what the future has in store, it is instructive to take a look back at where the tech industry has come from and how the pandemic has shifted the hiring paradigm. As the September 2021 study published by WTIA demonstrated, the tech sector is a foundational pillar of Washington State’s economy. The sector’s size, combined with the exponential impact of tech industry purchases and tech worker household spending, makes the tech sector a significant source of wealth and job creation in Washington. 

How did we get here? The Seattle metro area is among a handful of so-called “tech hubs” that sprang up across the nation near major tech universities. For example, Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Boston; Stanford University, which supplied a steady stream of talent for Silicon Valley; the University of Washington in Seattle; and the University of Texas in Austin. These tech hubs grew as intellectual property was commercialized by venture capital and private equity, leading to job creation far greater than the local talent pool, which gave rise to a mass talent migration toward those regions to fill those new roles. And that influx of talent became a virtuous cycle, which led to more investment into university and corporate research, giving rise to the development of additional intellectual property, which led to more jobs. And on and on, the cycle expanded.

That is, until Covid-19. Today, it is no longer necessary to relocate talent to the tech hubs. The recruiting opportunity shifted to go to where the talent is already and recruit it there, and leave it there except for an occasional in-person trip to meet with a group to build relationships or conduct creative processes. In fact, the very idea of a tech hub, in the traditional sense, is fading. The jobs may indeed be created in your city, but the person doing that job can live thousands of miles away. 

The Benefits of the New Hiring Paradigm

Tech hubs will continue to create new jobs, but they will likely be held by people who don’t live in those hubs. This gives companies more flexibility in where they establish their headquarters. Since they can affordably hire talent from anywhere, they may choose to seek regions or states that offer more affordable commercial real estate, provide safer working environments, or actively invest in developing the workforce through reskilling and up-skilling programs. In addition, having a nation, or even a world, of talent to choose from makes it easier than ever to hire diverse candidates, which help make those tech companies even more attractive to new talent from other regions.

Moreover, the new “work-from-anywhere” paradigm gives employees the coveted flexibility and freedom to live wherever they choose, travel, and create a lifestyle that reflects their needs and values. For instance, many people have chosen to travel the world while working full- or part-time in remote positions. And this phenomenon isn’t limited to younger generations—even parents and older adults are deciding to trade a traditional lifestyle for a more adventurous one. It bears mentioning, travel doesn’t always have to mean overseas (although WTIA had a Gen Z employee working from Italy recently). We also had a Gen X staffer who traveled Washington’s state parks in a camper van with her dog. She stayed very productive and engaged with colleagues using campground WiFi hotspots while exploring and soaking in all the beauty and wonder Washington has to offer.  

This is just a short list of the benefits of work-from-anywhere. Remote employees also report experiencing a better quality of life; the ability to relocate to less expensive areas, resulting in a lower cost of living; and even the opportunity to overcome immigration and other discriminatory challenges, leading to better, more secure career opportunities.

Employers realize greater engagement and retention despite having a distributed workforce because employees are happier and more productive. In addition, there’s an obvious benefit: Companies are able to rent smaller office spaces, or forego having an office altogether and operate in a completely remote environment (like WTIA does at the moment), reducing real estate and other related costs. Finally, from a societal perspective, work-from-anywhere helps to drive the relocation of diverse, multicultural populations to areas that have historically struggled to bridge racial divides. It also helps the environment, vastly reducing or eliminating daily commutes and thus, pollution and carbon emissions. 

Work From Anywhere Is Not a Panacea   

While work from anywhere delivers some readily apparent benefits, it also has its shortcomings. Certain activities require in-person interaction—there simply isn’t any way around it. Remote tools are phenomenal for transactional, high-velocity interactions. Conversely, collaborative, creative, freeform activities like brainstorming, design work and complex problem solving are often not nearly as effective using remote tools as they are in person. There is a certain energy and dynamic that sparks inspiration, imagination and connection in a “live” room that is impossible to replicate on a video conferencing platform. Thus, it is likely that business travel will increase as the use of commercial real estate square footage declines. 

“Humans are tactile pack animals,” says Michael Schutzler, CEO, WTIA. “ We need to be physically present with one another to develop as a tribe. Relationships are best formed in close contact partly because a large portion of meaning is communicated in facial expressions, body language, tone, and so on. We are much more than just talking heads on a screen.”