The Value of Remote Work

My flight home got cancelled at the end of the holiday break earlier this month.
 
An airline staff shortage caused by COVID-19 was the culprit.
 
I saw it as a sign that going back to Toronto wasn’t it.
 
With my work laptop in hand, I decided to set up remotely across the American Southwest.
 
For a week, I lived and worked out of a historic adobe home in Tucson.
 
After work, I’d drive to the Sonoran Desert for hikes and to view the pastel-coloured sunsets.
 
That alone has done more for my mental health than any company-wide initiative to support employees amid the pandemic.
 
Remote work gives employees autonomy. And autonomy breeds creativity, which is a leading ingredient for growth—both at the personal and organization-wide level.
 
There’s still a lot more research to be done around the value of remote work, but I can already see its benefits working at a company that remains remote first.