There is a palpable acceleration of the trend to democratize the workplace – organizations becoming “remote-friendly” is one of the results of the trend. There is another less-known and emerging trend known as “remote-first.” “Remote-first” is a working model adopted by organizations that provide remote work options for all their employees while having a physical office, sometimes, by default in the case of not having a physical office.
There are some remote-first companies that require a marginal number of employees to work from a centralized office intermittently or regularly while other remote-first companies operate with entirely remote staff.
The remote-first work model gained more ground as the pandemic raged globally and many companies were forced to operate with their workforce working remotely, often, from home. Start-ups are also keen on adopting the remote-first work model.
What are the makings of a company with a remote-first work culture?
A company that establishes remote work as the norm rather than a means to an end has a remote-first work culture.
Let’s say that you are a remote employee for a remote-first company. And you do your job employing the same tools and following the same process when you work remotely even when you work in your company’s designated physical office. This means your organization has an immersive, remote-first work culture.
Companies like Genashtim have been a vanguard in embracing remote-first work culture for more than a decade before the pandemic. Genashtim was founded with the intent to uplift the marginalized communities by providing them with sustainable employment. As a B Corp certified company complying with corporate social responsibility (CSR), and environmental, social, and governance (ESG) requirements, Genashtim hires people with disabilities (PWDs), Middle Eastern refugees, seniors, and women from oppressed environments. All of these people have one thing in common – commuting to work is difficult, and even dangerous for them.
New problems require new solutions, right? Adhering to that wisdom, Genashtim launched itself as a company with a 100% global remote workforce to address the challenges of traveling to work. Genashtim’s employees work from wherever they are, truly espousing their organization’s remote-first work culture.
Many companies are embracing the tenets of remote-first work culture and have started offering permanent remote work designations after realizing the benefits of the remote work model during the pandemic.
Do not confuse “remote-first companies” with “remote-friendly companies”!
Let’s look at the differences between remote-first and remote-friendly companies.
- Remote-first companies:
- Practice remote work as the default work mode.
- Never treat remote work as an exception or occasional practice.
- Customize operations to suit employees working from anywhere.
- Assume a fully remote workforce and set up operations to support their remote workforce consistently and effectively.
- Remote-friendly companies:
- Allow employees to work remotely for certain reasons.
- Allow employees to work remotely for a certain number of days in a week.
- Do not support remote work as the organization’s primary mode of working.
Last words about remote-first…
Remote-first workplaces adopt such a work model due to certain business and social impact goals as well as organizational and competitive advantages.
Genashtim, for example, became a remote-first company so that it can maintain sustainable employment for people who have trouble with conventional work models. Other companies may embrace a remote-first work culture for the following reasons:
- Business continuation
- Diversity and inclusivity policies
- Employee wellbeing
- Lasting flexibility and adaptability
- Cost-saving
- Global talent recruiting and retention
Innovation in telecommunication and receptive business culture have made the remote-first way of working very much achievable, even preferable for some companies!
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