What Is a Work from Anywhere Model? (Benefits, Challenges & Recommendations)


We’re finally starting to see the light at the end of the tunnel that is the pandemic. As the restrictions and lockdowns ease gradually, many companies are excited to welcome employees back to the office. However, the end of the pandemic does not signify the end of remote work.

The pandemic has led us to many realizations, one of which revolves around how and where we work. It’s become evident that we’re capable of doing effective, quality work without being in an office — so what’s the point of going back?

While remote work has undoubtedly demonstrated its value, another effective work model possibly offers more benefits than remote or hybrid work: the work from anywhere model. The freedom and flexibility it provides might tempt you to switch to this work setup. However, there are vital things to consider for your company to reap the benefits of this model.

If your company is considering a work from anywhere setup, or perhaps you’re just curious about it, here are the things you need to know.

What is a Work from Anywhere Model?

The work from Anywhere model is a corporate culture and a work strategy.  It empowers individuals to choose the best place to work on any given day.  Employees are allowed the freedom and take the responsibility to choose where they work on any given day while delivering what’s expected of them.  Their place of work can be a corporate office, home, coworking office, vacation home, local cafe, RV, remote, Etc.

It means being able to work anywhere you want as long as you can perform the tasks expected of you. Whether at home, in an office, or a coffee shop, employees get the freedom to choose where they can work best. It’s perfectly possible to have an entire team scattered around the city or even the world.

The work from anywhere model reshapes the way business owners think and operate. It also encourages increased sustainability, flexibility, and well-being for employees and employers alike. The power of the working from anywhereOpens in a new tab. model is the ability to attract new talent, recruit faster, and increase diversity within the organization.

7 Benefits of the Work from Anywhere Model

1. Increased Comfort and Convenience

The most significant benefit of the work from anywhere model is the flexibility to work on your terms. 

Working from anywhere isn’t about choosing between home or the office. Working at home is an option, but it’s not the only option. If you enjoy the ambiance of a coffee shop, you can work there. If you feel most productive when surrounded by nature, you can even go to the park. 

You are no more scrambling to get dressed for work or setting up a workspace at home. Instead, you could open your laptop and sit on your favorite chair.

You’re no longer bound by residence, city, or even country. You could be in a staff meeting while sitting at a beach or in front of the Eiffel Tower.

2. Better Life-Work Integration

“[Y]ou should not adapt your life to work but adapt your work to how you want to live.” Oyster Senior Product Manager Marek Trubak’s statement rings true.

Working long hours inside an office can harm your physical and mental well-being. Many people lose precious hours getting ready for work and commuting. Furthermore, it becomes difficult to juggle personal affairs when your professional life demands so much from you.

Working from anywhere gives you the flexibility and freedom to choose your work hours. It’s empowering to have complete control of your time, which also applies to your team. It only makes sense that employees would be more productive when they can operate on their timetable. After all, it’s easier to concentrate on work when your personal life isn’t falling apart around you.

3. Improved Productivity

People operate differently. Some people might find that they’re more productive at night when it’s completely silent. Others can focus better with the low buzz of chatter in a coffee shop. Giving employees the freedom to choose where they work allows them to find the most optimal environment to carry out their tasks and responsibilities best.

Working in an office could also cause distractions. Even the smallest distraction could affect your mood and performance. Thus, working from anywhere improves productivityOpens in a new tab. by giving you the freedom to work where there’s less distraction for you.

4. Increased Profit

Let’s connect the dots: better life-work integration leads to happier, more fulfilled employees. It’ll translate to their work, effectively improving performance and productivity. Employees who are productive and truly enjoy what they do will produce excellent outputs. Finally, this will inevitably result in satisfied clients and profitability for the company.

5. Saves Time

Have you ever attended a meeting and thought, “This could have been an email”?

Many impromptu meetings are ultimately a waste of time and energy. Just think about all the time employees could have used to get work done — all wasted while waiting for their colleagues and superiors to arrive.

But with work from anywhere, meetings would be more efficient and productive. It’s much easier to plan and schedule a meeting at a fixed time; many apps and tools are available for that. It wouldn’t take much time and effort to attend the meeting since it would only be one click away.

6. Offers Opportunity to Hire Global Talents

The global talent pool is highly competitive. As a result, big and small companies are scrambling to get their hands on brilliant people. If a business’s hiring process is confined to a specific region, that significantly narrows down the people you can hire and are willing to apply.

Working from anywhere gives companies access to talents regardless of their location. It doesn’t matter if that person is on the other side of the world — as long as they can work from anywhere, there’s no stopping them from bringing value to the company. Furthermore, with more and more companies opening themselves up to global talents and diversifying their work environment and culture, there’s no point in confining your company to a geographical area.

7. Saves Employee’s Wallets & Improves Bottom Line

The work from anywhere model saves money both for employees and employers. Employees can cut down on commute, gas, car maintenance, and lunches or snacks. Employers, on the other hand, will need to spend less on operational expenses. Both employers and employees can save up for things they truly need and gain financial freedomOpens in a new tab..

3 Challenges of the Work from Anywhere Model


Like every business endeavor, implementing a work from anywhere model will be different for everyone. In addition, the model itself has its fair share of challenges, although we would argue that the benefits far outweigh them. Nevertheless, you must know these challenges to ensure a smooth transition for everyone involved.

1. Communication Gap

Effective communicationOpens in a new tab. between team members is undoubtedly the biggest challenge in a work from anywhere model. There are many tools and apps for synchronous communication. However, with employees that are empowered to work from different places and in different time zones, asynchronousOpens in a new tab. would be the primary communication method.

You first need to figure out the best tools and apps for your team. It can depend on the size of your team, the tasks that need to be done, pricing, and customer support, among others. Likewise, you and your team need to set up a process and establish rules or guidelines about asynchronous communication. Doing so can prevent misunderstandings and missed deadlines while maintaining respect for each other’s time.

2. Lack of Technology and Resources

Finding and investing in the right tools and software is critical in implementing a work from anywhere model. It allows your team to connect and collaborate virtually. You could say that work from anywhere would not be possible without these technologies and resources.

However, some employees might not have access to such resources or don’t know how to use particular tools and software. Therefore, aside from providing your team with the proper tools and tech to ensure that the work from anywhere setup is a success, you may need to offer training on the primary use of collaborative technologies.

3. Cybersecurity issues

Employees should be guided on the proper cybersecurity tipsOpens in a new tab., such as using VPN on public networks and not saving confidential information on their personal devices. You will also need to ensure that company information is kept confidential and secure. In a setup where most of the work and information is done virtually, you must take the appropriate steps to protect data from and about employees, corporate, and customers.

3 Work from Anywhere Must-Haves


The success of a work from anywhere model depends on a set of components that allows it to be efficient, reliable, and user-friendly

1. Mobile Technology

Laptops, tablets, and smartphones are central to the work from anywhere setup. Without these powerful, lightweight wireless technologies, employees would be tethered to their desks. With a phone or laptop, employees could work from home, at a park, in a moving train, at a beach in Maldives — anywhere! Certified Digital Marketing Professional Fernando Academia Jr.Opens in a new tab. said, “In an age where we can connect, share information, and remain productive from anywhere in the world, the possibilities are almost limitless.”

2. Ubiquitous Internet

Employees can work anywhere they want as long as they have access to the Internet. It doesn’t matter whether it’s through an ethernet cable, Wi-Fi, or a satellite signal. With a secure connection, they can communicate with you and their colleagues, as well as submit their deliverables as necessary.

3. Coworking Spaces

Coworking spacesOpens in a new tab. give remote and mobile employees a place to go where they won’t have to worry about running out of power source for their phones and laptops or the Internet connection interrupted by inclement weather. It could also foster a culture of collaboration, creativity, inclusivity, focus, and productivity.

6 Recommendations When Implementing a Work from Anywhere Model?


As with other work setups, it won’t be a successful transition if you don’t have the right pieces in place and the proper plan of action.

To unlock your team’s potential — wherever they may be — companies must go beyond physical location and instead prioritize the people: what they do, what they need to accomplish their objectives, and how to provide them with the proper support.

Patricia Salvosa, Senior Business Development Manager at Haworth, shared, “About one-third of workers report high levels of stress. This can create a burden for employers in health care costs, periods of disability, absenteeism, job turnover, and poor productivity. In the era of work from anywhere, leaders must foster a culture of trust and enable employees to work in ways that best fit their needs.

Companies must consider the following recommendations:

1. Plan and budget for the new technical demands.

Investing in state-of-the-art technology and digital communication tools would enable maximum interaction for your team. The right apps and tools would effectively streamline workflows and processes and encourage productivity within your organization. Furthermore, it’s essential for you to provide resources to employees who might not have the best tools or have limited access to certain resources, such as Internet access and computer.

2. Address diversity, inclusion, and equity issues and opportunities.

This is especially true for companies that are hiring global talents. Promoting cultural diversity within work is largely beneficial for inspiring creativity and collaboration.

However, certain issues may also arise. Conflict could stem from misunderstandings or miscommunication. Similarly, some people might feel isolated, or others might have internalized bias or prejudice. It’s not enough to hire excellent people in your team. Everyone needs to work together in harmony, despite the differences and physical distance. The company needs to address proactively the issues and opportunities that a diverse workforce brings.

Allan TanOpens in a new tab., Group Editor-in-Chief at CXOCIETY Pte Ltd, shared in an article about disrupting bias in the digital era, “[E]veryone has a role to play to advocate diversity and inclusion in the workplace. It is a conscious decision and one you must make into a habit.”

3. Strengthen company culture.

How do you create and sustain a common culture among employees when they’re all over the globe? It becomes especially challenging with the lack of physical meetings and interactions. It’s important to encourage collaboration through team-building activities to keep all team members engaged, connected, and motivated.

4. Redefine productivity.

Since it’s difficult to track whether your employees are working while on the clock, it might be a good idea to reassess what productivity means in such a setup and how you can measure it. Is it going to be based on their output? Are you going to use time tracking devices to supervise their work? How do you plan to monitor their progress on certain tasks?

5. Build digital fluency and leadership skills.

Digitally fluent organizations are shown to have higher revenue growth. Thus, employees will need to be trained in their digital and leadership skillsOpens in a new tab.. The former is to ensure that they can maximize the tools and technology at their disposal. Meanwhile, the latter is to inspire them to be more proactive and create future leaders.

6. Integrate a communication platform.

Managing correspondence with employees and clients is one of the major things to consider in implementing a work from anywhere model. As already mentioned, finding the suitable apps and tools for communicationOpens in a new tab., both synchronous and asynchronous, will aid in collaboration and dissemination of information. When done right, it could also help strengthen company culture and camaraderie.

Is Work from Anywhere the Future of Work?


Rather than the future of work, it would be safe to say that the work from anywhere model is the present of work — or at least, it’s starting to be.

Work is no longer confined to a singular space. It transcends geographical barriers and provides freedom to employers and employees.

Work from anywhere is an empowering model that sprung thanks to the pandemic. However, new work models shouldn’t just be a reaction to the pandemic; they should aim to outlast it. Working from anywhere’s supports the long-term goals of employees and the businesses. Who would want to slip back to old habits?

As Stephanie YuOpens in a new tab., Head of Revenue Recruit at Divvy, said, “Don’t go ‘fixing’ something that doesn’t need to be fixed. If you survived or even thrived in this new way of work for the past 2 years… why go changing it? People are doing their work. People are performing. Location isn’t the problem. The problem is your lack of trust [in] your people.”

Business growth in an uncertain world depends on a resilient and productive workforce. Many companies, such as Spotify and Twitter, quickly adapt to this new setup. With the world embracing the transition to work from anywhere operations, there should be no reason why you can’t lead the change in your company.

The way we see, do, and feel about work is evolving. With that, we must also learn to adapt how we operate if we’re to overcome new challenges and realize new opportunities.

Steve Todd

Steve Todd, founder of Open Sourced Workplace and is a recognized thought leader in workplace strategy and the future of work. With a passion for work from anywhere, Steve has successfully implemented transformative strategies that enhance productivity and employee satisfaction. Through Open Sourced Workplace, he fosters collaboration among HR, facilities management, technology, and real estate professionals, providing valuable insights and resources. As a speaker and contributor to various publications, Steve remains dedicated to staying at the forefront of workplace innovation, helping organizations thrive in today's dynamic work environment.

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