Remote: Office Not Required

by David Heinemeier Hansson

remote work isn’t primarily about the money—but who doesn’t like saving as a side effect? It certainly makes a great argument if you’re trying to convince a manager. Money, in fact, is the perfect Trojan horse for getting the bean counters on your side. Make them see dollar signs where you see greater freedom, more time with the family, and no commute, and you’ll both get what you want. When trying to convince said bean counters, there’s no logic like big company logic—so here’s some from IBM,fn2 the bluest of blue chips: Through its telework strategy, since 1995, IBM has reduced office space by a total of 78 million square feet. Of that, 58 million square feet was sold at a gain of $1.9B. And sublease income for leased space not needed exceeded $1B. In the U.S.,