The Future of Work

AI adoption has gained traction in the past few years, disrupting almost every industry. But implementing AI-based applications can be challenging. AI pioneer, Founder of the Google Brain Team and Landing AI, Former Chief Scientist at Baidu, and Co-founder of Coursera, Andrew Ng, recently shared how companies can adopt AI to transform their operations. 

Here are the key takeaways:

Brainstorm projects and start small 

Ng recommends companies start by brainstorming a list of at least half a dozen projects that can use AI rather than diving into just one. Next, he suggests a review of all the possible projects from a technical and business diligence perspective. After a few weeks of analysis, Ng says leaders can pick one or two worthwhile projects and commit to them. The AI pioneer recommends leaders start with small six-to-12 month goals instead of trying to accomplish an expansive vision. 

Ng also recommends starting with a small team and then building it up gradually: “Start with a machine learning team of around five people. That teaches you the early lessons you need to build a bigger team.”

Shift your mindset from big data to good data

The Coursera co-founder says companies need to shift their focus from big data to good data. “If you have a million images, go ahead, use them. But there are lots of problems that can use much smaller data sets that are clearly labelled and carefully curated,” he explains. 

Ng adds: “When you have millions or a billion users, you can have that noisy data and just average it—the learning algorithm will do fine. But if you are in a setting where you have a smaller data set—say, a hundred examples—then this type of noisy data has a huge impact on performance.”

Don’t wait for your data to be clean and perfect

Ng explains that engineering leaders waste a lot of time waiting for their data to be pristine. CEOs and CIOs often complain that their data’s a mess at the moment and that they’d build a great IT infrastructure in the next two years. To that, Ng says: “That’s a mistake. [Organizations] shouldn’t do that.”

The AI scientist points out that no company—not even the tech giants—have immaculate data. But that’s okay. “Spending two or three years to build a beautiful data infrastructure means that you lack feedback from the AI team to help prioritize what IT infrastructure to build. It is about starting an AI project with the data you already have that enables an AI team to give you the feedback to help prioritize what additional data to collect,” he adds.

AI isn’t just for the tech giants; startups can leverage AI too

Ng remarks that large corporations usually get all the media attention when it comes to AI. However, there is a lot of space for smaller organizations in the industry. 

“I’ll just mention a couple of gaps that I find exciting,” he continues, “Today, building AI systems is still very manual. You have a few brilliant ML engineers and data scientists who do things on a computer and then push things to production. There are a lot of manual steps in the process. So I’m excited about ML ops as an emerging discipline to help make the process of building and deploying AI systems more systematic.” 

He further adds that there is a lot of room for automation in day-to-day business problems—from marketing to human resources. 

Start making investments in AI 

Ng suggests that the next wave of AI will transform industries. It will disrupt everything—from manufacturing, agriculture, and transportation to healthcare, according to Ng. Consequently, he says, now is a good time for CEOs and CXOs to think about how AI will affect their industry when it becomes pervasive.

“AI is causing a shift in the dynamics of many industries. So if your company isn’t already making pretty aggressive and smart investments, this is a good time,” suggests the AI pioneer. 

Embrace AI, but ensure that your business is people-led

The AI scientist says that ‘AI is automation on steroids.’ Going AI-first might be great for a research lab but not for the business—businesses should not be AI-led. “If I go to a team and say, “Hey, everyone, please be AI-first,” it tends to focus the team on technology. In terms of how I execute the business, I tend to be customer-led or mission-led, almost never technology-led,” he adds. 

Artificial Intelligence is altering businesses at a rapid pace and will soon become ubiquitous. Most experts agree AI has the potential to drive tremendous economic growth. The technologies that enable AI, like development platforms, processing power, and data storage, are becoming affordable. As these technologies continue to mature, companies that have yet to adopt AI will feel the pressure to do so to stay competitive. As Ng says, the time is indeed right for companies to capitalize on this highly disruptive phenomenon.

Read the complete article.

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How popular is remote work with employees? For instance, would they choose to work from home over a $30K pay raise? Would they give up an exciting job offer for it? Surveys from Blind, HRM, and EY revealed the answer to be a resounding “Yes.”

This article examines workers’ hesitations around returning to the office, its implications on recruitment and retention, and how remote work poses an easy solution. 

COVID-19, caregiving, and flexibility are primary concerns for workers 

The pandemic has altered worker preferences. COVID-19 risks and caregiving concerns are causing anxiety and angst among employees, thereby deterring them from returning to the office. The HRM study also found that employees expressed a growing desire for better work-life balance, less commuting, and increased flexibility—all prime features of remote work. 

EY surveys further showed that nine in ten workers now want greater flexibility in when and where they work. In addition, caregivers, tech and finance workers, and managers/leaders are more likely to switch jobs over the matter, proving that popular pandemic work trends are becoming the norm.

The absence of flexible work is a deal-breaker for employees 

Post-pandemic, flexible work will play a critical role in employee career decisions. EY reported that more than a quarter of respondents claimed better work-life balance would be a principal factor in deciding whether to interview for a role. Sixty-seven percent would accept a job only if allowed some element of work flexibility. Over half would consider leaving their current position without flexibility in work hours and location. The majority of employees who declined job offers cited “lack of flexibility” as the main reason. The findings mirrored the HRM study, wherein 44 percent of respondents stated they would refuse a role without some form of remote work. 

Employers that embrace remote work will have better hiring prospects. Concurrently, companies without work flexibility will lose out on both existing and future talent. 

Remote work trumps pay raises for employees

So profound is employee desire for remote work that workers are willing to trade a pay raise for it. Blind’s survey of 3000+ employees from the largest US companies—including Google, Amazon, and Microsoft found that 64 percent of respondents chose permanent remote work over a $30K pay raise. 

For specific companies, the number goes higher; 81 and 89 percent of Lyft and Twitter professionals, respectively, preferred remote work.  What’s more, every single Zillow Group employee chose permanent WFH. Employees from just two of the 45 firms surveyed by Blind showed more interest in a raise—by slim margins. 

To sum up, concerns about COVID-19 exposure and caregiving responsibilities are compelling employees to work remotely. Moreover, workers have grown accustomed to the flexibility, safety, and work-life balance that remote work offers. Today, people will go to great lengths to work remotely, even turning down job offers or sacrificing a $30K pay raise. Employers will need to make flexible work options a crucial part of their hiring and retention strategies to attract the best talent. 

If your company needs help sourcing, vetting, matching, or managing remote employees, Turing can help. Hire from a giant talent pool of top 1% of 700K+ remote software developers, pre-vetted over 5+ hours of tests and interviews. Our onboarding process and management platform enable Turing developers to quickly get up-to-speed and integrated with your existing team while providing tools to ensure the efficient management and high productivity of developers.

For more information, visit Turing’s Hire page. 

As part of the American Jobs Plan, the Biden Administration announced a billion-dollar investment in broadband infrastructure, which will have significant implications on the future of work; the investment could help solve the tech talent shortage problem, train the next generation of tech workers, and create diverse pools of talent. 

Here’s a breakdown of its principal implications for tech companies and workforces:

An investment in broadband could solve the tech talent shortage

Presently, tech jobs are abundant: Interviews for technical roles grew by 106 percent since the start of the pandemic. While the growth rate for other roles is 4 percent, demand for software developers is slated to grow by 22 percent. Sixty-one percent of HR professionals worry about meeting this demand with talented candidates. 

Companies adopting remote work can access a larger talent pool, bridging the gap between demand and supply. Recognizing this, top firms like Google, Twitter, Coinbase, and Atlassian have already embraced flexible work arrangements. 

However, almost a quarter of American adults—disproportionately residents of rural areas—lack high-speed broadband connections at home, preventing them from joining the remote workforce. A billion-dollar investment in broadband access for every American could change that.

The proposal will train future tech workforces

The proposal will allocate an additional $48 billion for in-demand skill training, such as STEM training. For instance, the initiative will fund computer science courses for high-schoolers and community college-goers. It will similarly train tech workers who would traditionally find such programs inaccessible, thereby expanding the talent pool to keep pace with growing demand. 

In parallel, tech companies should revamp vetting systems based on academic merit and hire from non-traditional programs, such as those the American Jobs Plan would fund. To that end, Google and Apple are already changing the paradigm by removing college degree requirements for certain jobs.

Companies will have greater access to diverse talent

The growing digital divide in the U.S. is depriving many low-income and underserved families of internet access. For example: in California, 25 percent of students—disproportionately Black, Latinx, or Native American–can’t attend remote school because they lack internet access. An investment in broadband infrastructure will bridge this divide and enable underserved Americans of all backgrounds to be part of the remote tech workforce. 

Research has shown that diversity helps companies stay competitive. Innovation generated a greater portion of revenue in companies with above-average diversity, which translated into better financial performance. Firms with diverse management teams produced EBIT margins almost 10 percent higher than firms with below-average diversity.

In this manner, significant investment in broadband infrastructure and technical training could create larger, more diverse talent pools for firms to hire from.

How can the Biden government work around the proposal?

Merely providing a billion dollars to this cause won’t be enough. The Biden government will have to go extra bounds to ensure that every remote place in America can get internet services. The government will also have to see that the prices are slashed in areas where the internet is too expensive. The Biden government will also have to work with the service providers to boost connectivity around the country.
Another way to enhance the connectivity is to fund municipalities that are willing to build the infrastructure for the network. The initial costs for such projects are usually very high, which hinders the progress of internet connectivity in rural areas. Such grants can boost local rural communities.
The Biden government can overcome this digital divide by examining all the available options and working with local municipalities and new wireless network operators. Allowing new service providers is the key to boosting the competition, reducing the prices, and expanding the coverage beyond the current network.

Read about the proposal in detail.

Recently a number of fast-growing companies have begun to attack the tech talent shortage problem with novel solutions to help companies find people with specific skills. For instance, Turing.com enables companies to hire from a large, diverse global talent pool of top 1% of 700K+ senior, pre-vetted developers with strong technical and communication skills. Firms can hire across 100+ skill-sets such as React, Node.js, Python, AWS, Java, among many others. Finding talented candidates to fill critical roles is no longer a challenge for employers. 

For more information, visit Turing’s Hire page. 

A recent GitLab survey on remote work showcased its increasing popularity: One in three office workers would leave their jobs without the option to work remotely. One in every three companies that allow telecommuting will opt for a 100 percent remote policy. The report establishes remote work as the new status quo.

Highlights of GitLab’s Remote Work Report include:

Employers are enjoying increased productivity and efficiency

Employers enjoyed the many benefits of remote work. They reported increased productivity (42 percent) and efficiency (38 percent) after going remote. Remote work also helped boost workplace morale, according to 31 percent of respondents. Office bureaucracy and politics decreased while better documentation and processes increased. Remote work improved communication, reduced companies’ carbon footprint, and promoted diversity and inclusivity. 

Moreover, workers are content with the remote work policies employers are adopting. Eighty-two percent of employees complimented their leadership team for understanding remote team management and equipping them with the tools and processes to communicate efficiently. They also agreed that the future of work is remote. Meanwhile, 80 percent claimed they would recommend remote work to a friend. 

Talent demands remote work 

Fifty-two percent of remote workers would consider leaving a co-located company for a remote job. Without the option to work remotely, one in three remote workers would leave their jobs and either look for a new role or retire altogether. 

Seventy-eight percent of workers believe remote work gives employers a competitive advantage, proving that employers are making their teams’ remote work experience worthwhile. Most remote workers consider themselves clear on organizational and individual goals and believe their team is well-aligned with the rest of the company. Further, employees believe their companies promote accountability, encourage visibility, and keep most business processes well-defined and well-documented.

However, room for improvement remains. Employees felt that transparent leadership and increased visibility into their organization would help develop better connectedness. Incidentally, GitLab’s Head of Remote, Darren Murph echoed the same sentiment at Turing’s Boundaryless: #BuildFromAnywhere Conference, saying, “The more transparency and visibility the entire team has into each other’s work, the easier it is for people to feel like they belong.”

Remote work is going mainstream

Accelerated by their remote work successes, companies are making working from home the norm. Of all the companies that allow remote work, one in three will have a 100 percent remote policy where employees work in their native time zone. Twelve percent will go completely remote, with each employee working in a company-mandated time zone. Forty-two percent will use a hybrid approach, and only 14 percent will allow remote work without making it the norm or default.

Among employees, too, remote work eyes the mainstream. Of all respondents, 45 percent claimed to have less than a year of remote working experience, which means they began working from home during the pandemic. The remote workforce has quickly gained new talent over the past year, which pushes it even closer to becoming the status quo. 

Read GitLab’s full report. 

Companies can build and scale their team with exceptional remote software talent. With Turing, hire from the global talent pool of top 1% of 700K+ developers across 100+ skills, including but not limited to, React, Node, Python, AWS, and JavaScript. Turing developers have exceptional technical and communication skills with over 5 hours of tests and interviews included in the vetting process.

Two studies recently shared insights on developing hybrid policies that blend remote and in-office work without burning out employees: organize regular team discussions to avoid employee burnout, offer flexible working hours to improve team performance, and train managers to ensure smooth operations. With over forty percent of the global workforce considering leaving their employer this year, a thoughtful approach to hybrid work is critical for attracting and retaining talent. 

Key takeaways from the reports include:

$1 spent on the hybrid policy redesign program led to $1.68 in savings

Organizations that invested in a redesign program before going hybrid saw a healthy return on investment. They saw improved work-life balance and job satisfaction among employees and a drop in employee turnover costs. Voluntary employee exits decreased by 40 percent in these organizations. 

The talent landscape has shifted, and employee expectations have changed. Leaders must rethink employee engagement before adopting a hybrid setup. More than 66 percent of business leaders are redesigning spaces and policies for hybrid work. They are investing in technology to bridge the physical and digital worlds. 

Regular team discussions prevent overload and increase transparency

Structured discussions helped overloaded employees reduce engagements that did not require their inputs. They also helped increase efficiency by eliminating low-value work. Sixty-one percent of employees from organizations that did not conduct such discussions said they felt overburdened by work. Thus, leaders must urgently address digital exhaustion and work on solutions to reduce employee workloads.

Regular team discussions also set clear performance expectations. They helped hybrid employees overcome their fears of being judged based on their work hours instead of their contributions. They improved transparency by providing a clear picture of the hybrid workplace.

Flexible work hours lead to improved employee well-being and performance

The research revealed that hybrid setups worked best when employees were given control over their work instead of mandating specific hours for remote and in-office work. Organizations with flexible work cultures reported fewer work-life conflicts. The employees reported improved well-being and family time. 

Looking at these benefits, 63 percent of high-revenue growth companies have adopted the ‘productivity anywhere’ models that give employees the option of working remotely or on-site. Organizations that focused less on when, where, and how work happened saw optimum results and enabled employees to work in sustainable ways. 

Training managers is essential for ensuring seamless hybrid operations

Remote employees often feel disconnected from their in-office colleagues. Manager training should focus on building an inclusive work environment and give equal attention to all the team members irrespective of where they work. It is equally important to watch out for silos that may arise in the hybrid space. Managers must ensure that in-office and remote employees have access to the same resources and are equally involved in decision-making. They should encourage cross-team collaboration to strengthen the hybrid team. 

Additionally, they should encourage employees to share when they feel overwhelmed by work and allow them to unplug to focus on particular tasks or even recharge. 

Read the complete studies.

Turing is an automated platform that helps organizations go hybrid. It enables companies to hire and manage senior, pre-vetted remote software developers. Firms can hire from a global talent pool of top 1% of 700K+ developers with strong technical and communication skills and who work in their time zone.
For more information, visit Turing’s Hire page.

Several tech giants like Qualcomm, Lenovo, and Google have shared that remote work boosted productivity. A study published in the MIT Sloan Management Review revealed that remote work developed big-picture thinking in employees and made them more creative. Yet another found that empowered remote workers led to more innovation. 

Additional findings: 

Remote work spurs productivity and innovation

Qualcomm and Lenovo said they saw a rise in productivity after going remote. The former even added they filed more patents during the pandemic than ever before. 

A report published in MIT Sloan studied 1,000 remote innovation leaders across 17 countries to understand how innovations occurred. The analysis revealed that the companies with a radically progressive approach to remote work saw increased innovation, leading to better employee and customer outcomes. These companies, referred to as “stormers” in the report, were some of the best industry innovators. The report also revealed that the constraints of remote work led to more creativity among employees.

The other report showed that remote employees are more innovative because virtual communication, paired with the perception of being distant, activates the higher-construal thought process, also known as big-picture thinking. Thus, remote workers develop big-picture thinking because of virtual collaborations. 

The empowerment of remote employees promotes innovation

Ninety-four percent of stormers said replacing the command-and-control structure with a culture focused on customer-facing teams helped them perform better. It gave them more autonomy while serving customer needs. This approach transformed customer communication and provided a sense of purpose to employees. What’s more, it also increased customer loyalty by 62 percent for stormer organizations. 

The report also revealed that entrusting remote employees with customer relationships led to innovation. Ninety-one percent of stormer workforces said they enjoyed the recognition their work received through this approach. It motivated them to innovate further. As a result, 96 percent of stormers prioritized self-empowerment over leadership.

Remote work demands intelligent technology, connectivity, and consistency

Qualcomm and Lenovo shared that connectivity and high-quality technology are crucial to support the shift to remote work. They said that having access to the correct devices and connectivity led to greater output. 

Meanwhile, 84 percent of innovators said they could maintain their work-life balance and prevent burnout by sticking to a consistent schedule. They also shared that establishing transparent communication systems within teams was essential for maintaining this balance. In addition to this, virtual lunch breaks engaged remote employees in casual conversation that helped build bonds across teams.

Brainwriting,  bias elimination, and minimal production blockers can maximize virtual productivity

• Reduce production blockers: Production blockers can hamper creative thinking. Frequent conversations with the team, for example, can act as a production blocker for an employee. Setting aside time for individual work away from the shared screen can help in limiting such blocks and increasing productivity. 
• Practice brainwriting: Encourage employees to write down their ideas and discuss them together. Brainwriting fixes the flaws of brainstorming by eliminating self-censorship and promoting honest criticism. Virtual communication is ideal for brainwriting because participants can contribute to a shared document without group influence. 
• Amplify individual input through virtual platforms: Virtual platforms allow only one person to talk at a time. Thus, they make it easier for less vocal participants to share their views. Most importantly, they serve as records of information, allowing organizations to go over previously discussed ideas.
• Eliminate bias and encourage diverse interactions: People evaluate ideas from colleagues more harshly than those from outsiders. Anonymity helps in evaluating ideas without prejudice. Similarly, conversations between different team members bring diverse perspectives and stimulate creativity. 

Read the complete reports.

Turing is an automated platform that lets companies “push a button” to hire and manage senior, pre-vetted remote software developers. Firms can hire from a global talent pool of top 1% of 700K+ developers with strong technical and communication skills who work in their time zone.

For more information, visit Turing’s Hire page.

Increased job satisfaction among federal workers, better recruitment and employee retention, and ample successful federal telework models have caused the Biden administration to plan for a permanent transition to flexible work. 

Pre-pandemic, 23 percent of government employees worked remotely for at least one day per week. During COVID-19, the number rose to 74 percent. Now, senior government officials have revealed they plan to allow individual federal agencies to define flexible work options according to the department’s aims, employee needs, and manager preferences. 

Here’s a breakdown of why: 

Remote work increased job satisfaction among federal workers

The Federal Employee Viewpoint Survey showed that government employees working remotely for at least three days a week reported a higher engagement score (76) than those working in an office (62.5). 

Eighty-two percent of federal employees eligible for remote work also reported they were either satisfied or very satisfied with their organization’s telework program. Only 5 percent said they were dissatisfied, and 12 percent were neutral.

A similar survey conducted by the National Treasury Employees Union found that 92 percent of workers had a successful experience with telework, with 66 percent even claiming they were more productive while working remotely. 

Employers win, too: federal agencies can recruit and retain the best talent by going remote

Recruiting the best talent is a top priority for the federal government. However, government officials have revealed that a lack of flexible work options has previously cost them the best candidates. “Candidates want to live in a location where you don’t pay half your salary in property taxes or lose most of your money trying to buy a house,” said Trent Fraizer, executive director for campaigns & academic engagement for Homeland Security and CISA.

Frazier worries that a lack of competitiveness in hiring will burden federal agencies in the long run, given the tough competition they face from the private sector. Top firms like Google, Twitter, Lenovo, etc., are opting for all-remote or hybrid work options, and others are following suit.

Economics and personnel experts also point to the benefits of having a larger talent pool while hiring remotely. They believe in hiring the best person for the role nationally, not locally. 

Agencies build on success with remote work

Several federal agencies have implemented successful remote work models–and plan to continue following them post-pandemic. They include: 

• Department of Defense (DOD)

The Department of Defense made remote work functional despite ample digital security and privacy concerns—even launching a virtual work environment in 2020 to enable WFH.  The agency is now scaling the project, dubbed DOD 365, to include a whole suite of collaboration tools with added security layers.

• US Department of Agriculture (USDA)

The USDA has already declared that it will allow remote work for up to four days a week, along with expanded usage of virtual and remote duty stations and more flexible schedules. 

• NASA 

Despite existing remote work arrangements, NASA had to scale to mass telework rapidly at the onset of the pandemic. However, the agency quickly managed to overcome the pitfalls of remote work, and at one point, had 90 percent of its workforce working remotely. 

• General Services Administration (GSA) 

A majority of the GSA’s workforce has been working remotely for the past five years—which made transitioning to all-remote relatively easy for the team. 

Boundaryless work is popular with both federal employees and agency leadership. Past successes with federal telework programs have further shown that remote work is here to stay. 

Organizations looking to build remote teams of talented engineers can, with Turing, hire Silicon Valley caliber software developers across 100+ skills.  

The Microsoft Work Trend Index, an annual report published by Microsoft each spring, concluded companies that don’t offer remote work—be it fully remote or hybrid options—risk losing the best human resources. The index reported that 73 percent of employees don’t want to return to full-time, in-office work. Further, 40 percent of the workforce is considering a job switch. 

To create a hybrid workplace, according to a different report, companies must plan carefully. Going hybrid by default is impracticable and unsustainable, the report said. To do so effectively, companies should consider the following: 

Determine the company’s vision for the future of work

The first step of going hybrid: clarity of vision. Companies need to define the main changes, challenges, and a re-imagined vision for their hybrid workforce. Employers need to debate the following questions: How will teams collaborate if they don’t work from the same location? Can each job be carried out remotely, on-site, or a mix of both? Will gig workers and freelancers be a part of the workforce? Will a hybrid workforce help or hinder the operating model?

Identify real estate needs and technology requirements

After determining their hybrid vision, companies need to decide how much of their workforce will work remotely and the technology hardware, software, and collaboration required to support them. 

Employers must identify which tools and applications can help workers perform their jobs well from anywhere. Such applications must overcome an office-centric culture through easy digital communication. 

Find ways of translating culture to the virtual workplace

In hybrid workplaces, culture no longer lives in offices. Companies will need to incorporate their culture and values in virtual operations at all stages of the talent lifecycle. This means transforming onboarding processes, team-building activities, and leadership development programs to suit the virtual world.

Successful hybrid workplaces invest in business tools that help digitize as many procedures and processes as possible and engage leaders capable of building virtual relationships and inspiring great work. Above all, they offer employees a great culture, wherever they log in from.

Read more about building a hybrid workforce.

Alphabet Inc., parent company of Google, recently announced it has saved more than $1 billion as a result of allowing its employees to work remotely. The company said it saved $268 million on travel, promotional, and entertainment costs in its most recent quarter, compared to the same period a year earlier—or $1 billion in savings on an annualized basis. 

The global pandemic prompted several tech giants to allow their employees to work remotely indefinitely. In July 2020, Google became the first major company to announce it would offer employees the option to work remotely through mid-2021, extending its prior timeline. In September 2020, the company revealed that it had begun working on a “hybrid” work model. 

Google’s savings offset costs

Not only has remote work saved Google over $1 billion, but it also allowed the firm to make significant investments in company growth. The company said the savings offset the costs of hiring several thousand more workers.  

Building on its remote success

Google is capitalizing on its success with remote work by adopting a hybrid work model. The company will now allow around 20 percent of its employees to work from home permanently. Google expects about 60 percent of its employees to work in the office for “a few days a week,” while the remaining 20 percent work on-premise. What’s more, Google CEO Sundar Pichai, in an email to employees, wrote that the company plans to develop several more remote roles and all-remote sub-teams. 

Read more about remote work.

Human migration uses something called the gate test: if a state opens its gates, do people flee or enter? California has experienced increased outbound migration over the past few years; with the pandemic intensifying this trend, the Golden State experienced a population decline for the very first time in 2020, costing it a Congressional seat. 

For every new Bay Area resident, two are leaving

The “techxodus” is taking place in the heart of California, its tech hubs. The Bay Area had been experiencing a net outflow of residents—more residents have left than moved in—long before the global pandemic. But as the pandemic accelerated the shift to remote and more companies allowed employees to work from anywhere, the net outflow almost quadrupled. It has averaged 49.8 percent since September 2020, which means that for every new Bay Area resident, two have left. Workers cite a better home environment and lower cost of living as the main reasons for leaving. 

Tech workers would leave the Bay Area if they could work remotely

What’s more, a survey revealed that two out of every three tech workers would leave the Bay Area if they had the option to work remotely. While 36 percent said they’d leave for other US regions, 16 percent said they’d consider leaving the US entirely. 

To get—and keep—top talent, Silicon Valley will need to go remote

Remote work experts expect many tech workers will demand the option to work remotely. At Turing’s recent Boundaryless: #ScalingPostPandemic Conference, senior Cushman & Wakefield executive Gabe Burke said he expects that, if talent demands remote work, employers will likely provide the option. 

To Office or Not to Office? ?

Remote leaders such as Gabe Burke, MD @CushWake are telling all at the Boundaryless: #ScalingPostPandemic Event.

LIVE now at https://t.co/BoVCikW68F pic.twitter.com/i6a8gC8nJ2

— Turing.com – The Future of Work is Remote (@turingcom) May 13, 2021

Read the full reports.

Employees—working parents in particular—have grown fond of working from home. FlexJobs surveyed more than 1,100 parents with children 18 or younger to get insight into their experience working remotely and their expectations from post-pandemic workplaces.

Top takeaways from the survey:

Sixty-two percent of working parents would quit without remote work

Two critical concerns for parents returning to the physical workplace: exposure to Covid-19 infection and the impact of in-office work on their personal lives. Working parents are willing to work more hours, give up on vacation time, and even take up to a 10 percent pay cut just to continue working remotely. 

Fifty-one percent state remote work increases productivity

Remote work allows parents to work in an environment that sets them up for success and makes them more productive. In addition to this, flexible working schedules help them manage their professional and childcare responsibilities with greater ease. 

Ninety-eight percent say remote work saves them money

Working parents have saved significant money working from home. Twenty-one percent report saving around $10,000 per year. Meanwhile, 33 percent and 22 percent report saving $3,900 and $2,000 per year, respectively. 

Sixty-six percent say remote work will improve gender equity

Female labor force participation in the US plummeted to its lowest in 33 years in 2021. What’s more, the pandemic resulted in $800 billion in lost income for women in 2020. But, working parents say they believe that allowing remote work will help improve gender equity. 

Turing is an automated platform that lets companies “push a button” to hire and manage senior, pre-vetted remote software developers. Firms can hire from a global talent pool of top 1% of 700K+ Turing developers with strong technical and communication skills who work in their time zone.

For more information, visit Turing’s Hire page.

Source: Flexjobs