Remote Book Summary

Book Summary

By Jason Fried and David Heinemeier Hansson

15 min

Audio available

Brief Summary

Modern technology has enabled companies to embrace a remote work culture. Remote work is a benefit that will enable employers to attract competitive talent from across the globe, while increasing employees’ satisfaction and productivity. If employers are able to successfully manage the challenges that come with building a remote workforce, they will enjoy significant advantages over a traditional office work culture.

About the Author

Jason Fried is the cofounder and CEO of the software development company 37signals. He is the co-author of bestsellers Getting Real, Remote, and REWORK. He is also a columnist for Inc. Magazine. Fried received his B.S. in finance from the University of Arizona.

David Heinemeier Hansson is the co-author of two New York Times bestsellers, REWORK and Remote. He is the cofounder and partner of the software development company Basecamp, and the creator of the software toolkit Ruby on Rails.

Hansson was born in Denmark and received his bachelor's degree in Computer Science and Business Administration from Copenhagen Business School. He moved to Chicago in 2005, and he now splits his time between the United States and Spain with his wife and two sons.

Topics

Entrepreneurship Management & Leadership

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Key Insights

Remote work is on the rise, and it is a benefit that companies should embrace. The internet and new technology have enabled workers to collaborate and work from anywhere in the world. Tax law in the United States also does not penalize workers for working remotely from anywhere in the country. Thanks to these new developments, the number of remote workers had risen 73 percent in the years from 2003 to 2011.

Companies that embrace remote work have the advantage of recruiting competitive employees from anywhere in the world and improve the satisfaction, wellness, and productivity of current employees. Remote work is a benefit that can help companies attract the most competitive talent.

However, despite the rise in popularity of remote work, Yahoo made the controversial decision to end its remote work program in February of 2013. This is because in many companies, the corporate mindset has not caught up to new technological developments, and many company leaders are still stuck in the traditional office tradition. It is hard for these industry leaders to see the benefits of remote work and break out of the normal 9 to 5 schedule. However, industry leaders will have to embrace the advantages of remote work, in order to attract the best talent to their companies and improve employee happiness and productivity.

Employers should openly assess the pros and cons of developing a remote work culture and will have to address the challenges of employee motivation and the cultivation of company culture with remote employees. However, companies that are able to address these challenges and take advantage of the benefits of a remote workforce will be ahead of the curve. Companies with a remote work culture will be able to attract top employees and increase productivity, while the traditional office set up will become outdated and unattractive to competitive candidates.

Most Work Doesn’t Happen At Work

Most workers don’t do their best work at the office, because the amount of distractions in the average workplace makes it difficult for employees to be productive. Meetings and calls break up the workday into short segments, which makes it difficult for workers to devote long periods of time to concentrate on deep work. For workers to do good creative work, they need long periods of time, free from distraction, to get into a flow state and produce good, creative work. Remote work allows workers to set up their day so they can eliminate distractions and create a workspace that encourages concentration and creative work. Remote work also allows employees to restructure their schedules in the most efficient way for them. Some people feel more productive in the morning, while others are night owls. Others have other obligations, such as doing chores or dealing with childcare. Outside of a traditional 9 to 5 office space, workers can set up a schedule that is most productive for them.

In most workplaces, employees are aware of the risk of interrupting their colleagues and creating unnecessary distractions. Therefore, most employees use email and collaboration software as...