REMOTE-ONLY WORK PROMOTES:

• HIRING AND WORKING FROM ALL OVER THE WORLD
  • instead of from a central location.
• FLEXIBLE WORKING HOURS
  • over set working hours.
• WRITING DOWN AND RECORDING KNOWLEDGE
  • over verbal explanations.
• WRITTEN-DOWN PROCESSES
  • over on-the-job training.
• PUBLIC SHARING OF INFORMATION
  • over need-to-know access.
• OPENING EVERY DOCUMENT TO CHANGE BY ANYONE
  • over top-down control of documents.
• ASYNCHRONOUS COMMUNICATION
  • over synchronous communication.
• THE RESULTS OF WORK
  • over the hours put in.
• FORMAL COMMUNICATION CHANNELS
  • over informal communication channels.

While there is sometimes value in the “instead of” items, we have come to value the remote-only items more.

WHAT REMOTE-ONLY IS NOT

• As the name says, it is more than remote-friendly; it is remote-only. There is no main office or headquarters with multiple people.
• It does not mean working independently of each other. Remote-only workers work together and communicate intensely—they just do so remotely.
• Neither is it a substitute for human interaction. Coworkers still need to collaborate, have conversations, and feel part of a team.
• It is not an example of offshoring. There is no shore to hire off from.

  It is simply hiring from around the world.

• It is not a management paradigm. It is a normal hierarchical organization—just one that focuses on output instead of input.

HOW REMOTE-ONLY CHANGES THE ORGANIZATION

• Knowledge is written down instead of conveyed verbally.
• As a result there are shorter and fewer meetings.
• Since knowledge is documented, most communication is asynchronous rather than real-time, and more often official than informal.
• More documented knowledge allows for fewer interruptions and less on-the-job training.
• There is more transparency within and outside the organization.
• Everything is public by default.

DISADVANTAGES FOR THE ORGANIZATION

• It scares some investors. It scares some partners. It scares some customers.
• It scares some potential employees, mostly senior non-technical hires.
• Onboarding may be harder; for some the first month can feel lonely.

ADVANTAGES FOR THE WORLD

• Reduced environmental impact from no commuting.
• Reduced environmental impact from less office space.
• Reduced inequality from bringing better-paying jobs to lower-cost regions.