🧬Are hybrid companies playing it too safe? ft Nick Bloom | Ep57 OoO

Companies say no, but the evidence doesn’t lie. Join Andrew and a leading Stanford Economist as they decode the science of remote work success (and failure) for companies across the world.

Andrew Allen

Feb 29, 2024

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👋 Hey, Welcome Back!

The data’s speaking…but are you listening?

Fact: Going fully remote is a game-changer - but most companies settle for hybrid models.

Something doesn’t add up.

This week Professor Nick Bloom is on the show to help us explore this hybrid hesitation. Is it a launchpad to a future of fully remote teams, or are companies missing out on a huge opportunity?

He’s seen it all, and he’s here to tell us what separates the trailblazers from the rest.

Professor Bloom is a Stanford Economist, a widely published leader in work-from-home research and a LinkedIn Top Voice in Remote Work. He’s won incredible awards like the National Science Foundation Career Award, and the European Investment Bank Prize.

🔬 Nick’s been holding remote work under the microscope for two decades, conducting global studies that have helped shift modern perspectives on where and how we work in the digital age.

And you won’t believe the data he’s gathered that companies actively ignore.

“Ten years ago… we found that WFH employees were 13% MORE productive.

So, all of our views on how much they were going to goof off were totally wrong. They weren’t goofing off at all, they were massively more productive – that’s almost an extra day a week, that’s huge!”

✨ This was the study that helped spark the remote movement.

It challenged the assumption that companies still grapple with today: People won’t work when they’re at home.

It’s just NOT true.

✔️ WFH does improve productivity!

BUT

❌ Poorly managed companies can’t tap into this benefit

And that’s because working remotely is more COMPLEX and requires higher EQ, collaboration and active feedback.

Without regular performance reviews employees can’t thrive.

The media loves to rile people up with sensationalist headlines about employees working three jobs, or outsourcing the work they do.

Because it supports the outdated narrative that productivity plummets when people work remotely – and people aren’t to be trusted.

🚨 But it’s a false narrative. 🚨

And there is strong evidence that proves WFH saves companies billions when correctly implemented.

That’s what we’re here to discuss today.

It’s episode 57 and I’m sitting down with Nick Bloom to talk about remote work - and the storied data that has helped us find our way back to effectively working from home.

We take a pragmatic look at the rise of hybrid work, and why companies are still hesitant to go all-in on remote working – despite the well-documented benefits it clearly delivers.

“The US macro economy has the best performance data.

Productivity growth from 2020 onwards was 1.6% (1.2% before that) - while we had a global pandemic. What was the miracle thing? My guess, working from home.”

Wondering whether to bet-it-all on remote work, or straddle the dividing line between office and home in a hybrid arrangement? Then today’s episode is for you.

The data doesn’t lie and it’s time you listened.

📽️ This Week on Episode 57:

📈 Find out what drives remote success or flops (Hint: it’s management mojo)
💸 Discover the REAL reasons behind hybrid work hesitation (the hard facts)
😤 Hear about Yahoo’s disastrous WFH experiment (+ why Meyer banned remote)
😎 Find out what flipped Elon Musk’s switch (from remote naysayer to yes man)
🚀 Get Nick Bloom’s WFH wisdom & choose your companies path (based on data!)

A big thank you to Professor Nick Bloom for appearing on the show and sharing his delightful data and insights with us. We have a renewed belief in the power of WFH productivity.

💡 If you’re on the cusp of changing the way your team works, consider the facts.

Watch today’s episode and equip yourself with the most up-to-date information on hybrid and remote models.

Why hesitate? Weigh up the facts then blaze your own remote work trail.

⚡ Enjoy!

Never make assumptions -

Andrew

🌟 Featured Guest 🌟

Nicholas Bloom is the William D. Eberle Professor of Economics at Stanford University. Elected to the Bloomberg50 for his insights on working from home, he regularly advises large corporations on things like return-to-office, hybrid work and remote management.

He holds a BA from Cambridge, an MPhil from Oxford and a PHD from the University of London. Nick’s also the co-founder of wfhresearch.com and wfhmap.com, where he releases much of his multi-faceted research on WFH.

He’s won numerous awards and is a LinkedIn Top Voice on Remote Work. If you’ve seen WFH insights in Fortune, The Economist or The New York Times – you’ve seen his groundbreaking research. He’s not just part of the conversation, he’s steering it.

Find him on LinkedIn and Twitter here.