FWIW, WFH is here, IRL.

As predicted at the beginning of the pandemic, the shift to working remotely (sometimes called telecommuting) is changing the landscape of today’s business world. Now that employers are seeing that their employees are actually doing work and, in fact, are sometimes more productive from home than in the office, expect there to be a wide-spread warming to the notion of working from home, even as the pandemic restrictions are lifted.

There has been a marked decrease in commercial real estate leasing activity since the pandemic started. Law firms, alone, are expected to decrease their square footage needs by 10-15%, per The American Lawyer. Facebook has announced that up to half of its workforce may shift to working from home permanently. Twitter has upped the ante and announced that almost all of its employees will be working from home. Same for financial services company Square.

What’s the driver in all this for small business? Reduced cost. And that’s not just rent, it’s all the ancillary things that go with having employees onsite, down the coffee service. But here’s another hidden driver: happier employees. Not everyone wants the drudgery of the daily commute. Some people are happier (and healthier!) when their dog is sleeping at their feet while they work. Flexibility is also a side benefit, be it the ability to run to the grocery store in the middle of the day or attend a kid’s game after school, employees who work from home — who are responsible — may well be the best asset your company can have.

The tide has turned. Ride with the wave or risk being washed out to sea.