Airbnb launches the "live and works anywhere" policy
Airbnb employees can live and work anywhere
Attention HR professionals, we are entering a new post-pandemic era where companies must be attentive to retaining and attracting good employees.
The pandemic brought several societal changes and made many people rethink their values, being reasonable about where they live and work. Being close to the ones they love has never been more important.
Technology has proven that we no longer need to gather people around a table to make decisions. Instead, it narrowed paths and proved to the world that we could be productive and work as a team even if people were on different continents.
"Two years ago, the world was turned upside down. Our offices closed and we found ourselves working from our bedrooms, basements, and home offices. Despite everything, we had the most productive two-year period in our history." - Brian Chesky, Airbnb CEO.
Despite this, I am still an advocate of face-to-face meetings, and I don't think anything will replace eye to eye and the perception of body language in a face-to-face negotiation. A virtually brainstorming session is not the same as presential. However, it is necessary to reflect and recognize that a hybrid and flexible solution will be inevitable from now on.
For companies, the biggest challenge of this new era will be to adapt the corporate culture between their remote workers and those who are in the office. If there is no such balance, one of the two will always be disappointed. It will also be crucial to invest in cultural diversity, not just gender diversity, as we will increasingly have a team with different accents and cultures in video meetings.
Years ago, Google set the trend to adopt flexible working hours, open space offices, and on-site perks - today, it has become a commodity. This week Airbnb took the lead and launched what will be a game-changer in the post-pandemic global corporate market!
Airbnb Proposal
Airbnb CEO Brian Chesky outlined the new policy in an email to employees that was posted to the company blog, as well as a Twitter thread, summarising it in five points:
You can work from home or the office
You can move anywhere in the country you work in, and your compensation won't change
You have the flexibility to travel and work around the world
We'll meet up regularly for gatherings
We'll continue to work in a highly coordinated way
The letter sent by Brian Chesky, CEO of the company, to his employees shows how Airbnb saw and came out ahead in this new corporate era, implementing solutions that will undoubtedly be a world reference for the new corporate culture.
Read more: Airbnb’s design for employees to live and work anywhere
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Andre Havro, MBA