“Live and work from anywhere.” This is the slogan announced on April 28 by Brian Chesky, the co-founder and head of the popular home rental platform Airbnb.
In an email sent to all of the company’s 6,000 employees, he detailed the changes in work policy at his company, which went through a violent shake-up during the pandemic and the sudden halt to international travel.
Twenty years ago, Silicon Valley start-ups popularized the idea of open-plan offices and on-site benefits, which were quickly adopted by companies around the world. Today’s startups have embraced remote work and flexibility, and I think it will become the predominant way to work in ten years. This is the direction the world is headed,” he says in his introduction.
Here are the new principles that have governed work at Airbnb, which aim to combine the efficiency of remote work with the human connection and collaboration of an office presence.
- The choice to work from the office or from home
Flexibility: each employee can choose where he or she will be most productive. A rule already in place in many organizations that, at the very least, ask for everyone’s wishes through a survey.
At Airbnb as elsewhere, let’s remember that some functions can only be done from the office or specific locations.
- The possibility to work anywhere in the country without changing your salary
This second point is more original already. Indeed, many companies take into account the cost of living in their salary policy. At Airbnb, if an employee moves “from San Francisco to Nashville or from Paris to Lyon,” he or she will remain paid the same.
However, employees who decide to move must have a discussion with their manager to agree on performance criteria, work schedules (in case of time differences) or availability for meetings. Note that international moves are not included in this policy. At least not this year, says Brian Chesky.
- The flexibility to work and travel anywhere in the world
Here, we approach the most avant-garde notions: from September, all Airbnb employees will be able to live and work in more than 170 countries, for a maximum of 3 months per country. All they need is a permanent address on site. It is up to the employee to take the necessary steps for his or her visa.
- Regular team meetings and social events
In order for employees to be able to see each other in a way other than via Zoom, mandatory face-to-face work sessions will be organized approximately one week every quarter, and even more for team leaders.
The reasons for this extensive telecommuting and flexibility policy are clear to Brian Chesky:
We want to hire and retain the best people in the world (like you). If we limited our talent pool to a commuting radius around our offices, we would be at a significant disadvantage. The best people live everywhere, they’re not concentrated in one area. And by recruiting from a diverse set of communities, we will become a more diverse company.”
A culture that is built on one key word, however: trust!
I understand the anxiety of not seeing people in an office – how can you know if your employees are doing their job when you can’t see them? For me, it’s simple: I trust you, and flexibility only works if you trust your team members,” he says.
A stance that stands in rather radical opposition to Tesla’s whimsical chairman, Elon Musk, who in a recent email to his executives stressed:
Everyone at Tesla is required to spend a minimum of 40 hours in the office per week. If you don’t show up, we will consider you quit.
For him, the telecommuting was only due to the exceptional situation of the pandemic. Let’s also remember that Tesla produces cars. The factory world is not the digital world.
And you, do you lean more towards the vision of Brian Chesky or Elon Musk?
