The Anywhere Office: Building a more productive workforce underpinned by a nationwide full fiber network.
The Barbados government’s invitation to foreign nationals to live and work there under the Welcome Stamp Visa scheme is definitely a case of living the dream. Since last summer, more than 3,000 so-called “stampers” have moved to the island, working for their existing employers from a laptop while enjoying Barbadian broadband, beaches and bars. While this is an extreme example of the WFH revolution, back in Blighty even traditional businesses such as HSBC, Nationwide and PwC have gone on record to endorse the hybrid home/office model. This permanent shift away from the daily office commute supports the “anywhere office” principle, where people hot-desk effortlessly between offices, homes and coffee bars. Many experts have weighed in on the benefits of a more flexible working model that combines the buzz of office collaboration and team building with the convenience and productivity gains of WFH. As Julia Hobsbawn discusses in the Demos Nowhere Office report, by focusing more on what makes a healthier, more functional workplace – wherever that may be – we can reduce stress and drive up productivity. This is a win-win for employers and employees with other benefits including lower commuting costs and travel time, and savings on office space costs. Flexible working can also help to level-up the UK and reduce geographic inequality by boosting opportunities in areas away from major conurbations. The government-backed Behavioural Insights Team (BIT) and jobs website Indeed recently analyzed nearly 20 million job applications and found that offering flexible working explicitly in job ads would increase applications by up to 30% and create at least 174,000 flexible jobs in the UK economy per year. But for this workplace recalibration to take off nationwide, people need access to the right digital tools and the right digital foundations – wherever they choose to live and work.
