Many companies today say they offer flexible work. But look closely and you’ll often find something else – a compromise shaped by habit rather than intention. Two days in, three days out and mandates framed as flexibility. Meanwhile, innovation is stalling, attrition is rising and culture is losing its meaning.
Professor Prithwiraj Choudhury, a leading voice on the future of work formerly of Harvard Business School and now based at LSE, has spent more than a decade studying what truly flexible, distributed work looks like. His conclusion? Work from anywhere (WFA) can be a strategic way to access diverse talent and drive performance but only when it’s carefully designed.
Why work from anywhere isn’t the same as working from home
WFA is often confused with working from home. But there’s a crucial difference. Working from home is about location on a given day. Work from anywhere is about geographic freedom. It gives individuals the ability to choose where to live, then build a work structure around that location. That could mean home, a co-working space, a local hub or a quarterly retreat with colleagues.
Choudhury has shown that WFA delivers measurable benefits. In his study of the US Patent and Trademark Office, productivity increased by 4% when employees were allowed to relocate to towns with lower living costs and better family support. Women gained more access to childcare. Employees reported higher wellbeing. For employers, the value was even clearer: access to broader, more diverse talent pools and a stronger retention edge.
Three types of hybrid: weekly, monthly and quarterly
Most organisations default to what Choudhury calls weekly hybrid: two or three days in the office, rest remote. But that model is often poorly designed. Teams split attendance days. Offices become rows of people on Zoom calls. Meanwhile, managers worry about culture and productivity without clear data or direction.
nstead, Choudhury offers a clearer framework: three distinct hybrid models, all structured around the insight that 25% to 40% of workdays should involve in-person interaction for best results.
- Weekly hybrid: Teams meet in person two days a week, for example, but it only works if schedules are coordinated
- Monthly hybrid: Teams come together for one week per month at a central hub – ideal for national teams
- Quarterly hybrid: Teams meet face to face once per quarter, often in rotating locations – suited to international or fully distributed teams
Each model requires specific management practices. Weekly hybrid relies on scheduling discipline. Monthly and quarterly models depend on well-run offsites, codified knowledge and engineered social interaction.
Designing for inclusion and innovation
A common myth is that remote work kills collaboration and mentoring. But Choudhury’s research suggests the opposite. In physical offices most interactions happen within 25 metres of your desk, which often means your team, your function and your silo. Real innovation needs diversity. WFA, if well designed, can create more diverse collisions.
He describes "virtual water coolers" – short, cross-functional, algorithm-driven conversations that spark creativity. These were trialled in a large bank with clear improvements in performance. Other practices include structured buddy systems for onboarding, codified knowledge sharing (especially with GenAI), and inclusive event design that avoids social silos.
WFA can also support place-based inclusion. In Tulsa, Oklahoma, a dedicated co-working hub has reversed brain drain by attracting thousands of remote workers and their families. In the UK Choudhury points to towns in the Midlands gaining back talent that once migrated to London.
Work from anywhere needs leadership – not just tech
It’s easy to assume WFA only applies to tech firms or startups. But examples abound beyond that world:
- The European Central Bank offers 110 WFA days, helping it compete with private banks for top talent
- Emmanuel Quinn, a global law firm, allows attorneys to live and work anywhere
- Smuckers, a legacy US manufacturer, practices work from anywhere.
WFA succeeds when leaders approach it as a talent decision rather than a cost exercise. That means rethinking structures, policies and culture to support distributed work in practice, not just in principle.
The HR role in work from anywhere: design, codify, measure
HR has a critical role to play in enabling WFA:
- Make the case to the board: WFA is about reaching more talent, enhancing inclusion and building future resilience
- Create a team-by-team playbook: Offer structure around the 25–40% in-person rule but let teams choose the right hybrid model. Then support them with management tools suited to that model
- Codify how work gets done: From onboarding to expenses to performance reviews, everything must be documented. GenAI can support this by automating documentation and daily updates
- Engineer human connection: Use virtual watercoolers, buddy systems and offsite design to build intentional moments of culture and care
- Measure outcomes, not presence: Avoid surveillance. Instead, focus on task-level performance. Choudhury recommends shifting to output-based KPIs for all key workstreams
Extending flexibility to frontline roles
For frontline or location-based sectors WFA might seem impossible. But technology is changing that. Choudhury’s work highlights the growing role of digital twins – real-time virtual models of physical spaces like hospitals, factories and even retail stores. These allow specialists to monitor and manage environments from anywhere.
Similarly, AI-powered personal bots may soon take over mundane communication tasks. In trials with Zapier Choudhury created a CEO bot indistinguishable from the real one. It passed the Turing test.
The questions go to the heart of leadership, trust and how human connection is managed when work is distributed, asynchronous and partly automated.
Work from anywhere: strategy needs design
Work from anywhere is gaining ground. But without the right structures it risks becoming another failed buzzword. HR has a clear opportunity to lead: making the case for WFA as a people-first talent approach, designing flexible hybrid models and supporting teams with the tools and practices they need.
The office still plays a role. But it’s no longer the only place where performance, innovation or culture happen. Redesigning work means asking not just where people work but how.
As Choudhury puts it: "Proximity is not a proxy for trust. And where someone lives shouldn't define what they can contribute."
Listen to the full podcast, What If the Office Is the Problem? With Prithwiraj Choudhury
About the author
