Spotify’s ‘Work From Anywhere’ Movement: Employees Choose to Work Where They Are Most Productive
Last month, Spotify’s HR Blog announced the implementation of their new ‘Work From Anywhere Movement’ in which the company’s employees can decide to come into the office or work remotely. This movement comes in light of COVID-19 social distancing regulations changing how many of us view the workspace. With the ‘Work From Anywhere’ movement, Spotify is allowing their employees to work from where they feel the most productive.
Spotify has been very open about their company goals to expand and diversify their platform in order to access newer markets around the world. Just recently, it was also announced that they would make the application more accessible to 85 new international markets by releasing nearly 21 new languages and expanding their advertisement services to other countries. Therefore, in announcing this new movement Spotify stated, “ [we] have always concluded that globalization and digitalization are drivers for a more flexible workplace”. In light of the events of 2020, Spotify’s executive team has been considering the dynamic nature of the workplace at an accelerated rate. They have concluded that the effectiveness of their employees will increase when given more flexibility to improve work-life balance, and by operating as a distributed organization to increase the use of communication tools and collaboration. Thus, the ‘Work From Anywhere’ movement was born.
Starting Summer 2021, employees will be presented with a variety of options: either they can work in the office as usual, work from home, or a combination of the two. Additionally, employees will be allowed more flexibility in regards to their geographical location, with some restrictions to limit issues with time zone differences. By allowing their workers to choose where they feel they are most productive, Spotify is not only promoting social distancing in the age of this pandemic, but they are also putting an emphasis on mental health and its impact on workflow.
The COVID-19 pandemic has changed our method of working seemingly overnight. With movements such as Spotify’s ‘Work From Anywhere’ movement, it raises the question: how has this pandemic altered our view of the workplace, and where will this direction take us in the future? While we are not on the other end of the pandemic just yet, it is clear that it is already driving major changes in how companies conduct their employees. Many companies may consider adopting a similar work model to increase the efficacy of their workers and to accelerate progress.
The pandemic has also shed light on the idea of how work efficiency is dictated by the space in which humans exist, showing how flexibility in the workplace can significantly improve one’s mental health and overall output. COVID-19 has certainly proven that the workplace is capable of adapting to major circumstances. We are interested to see how Spotify’s ‘Work From Anywhere’ movement will manifest in the company’s output starting this summer.
