The explosion of talent available for remote work (and the widespread acceptance of remote first employment) allows for global collaboration on an unprecedented scale.

The world is getting used to the idea of a permanent shift to remote and hybrid work. The Everywhere Workplace means your employees are, well, everywhere: some might be in the office, while others come and go, others work from home, and still others are part of the rising trend of digital nomads. It’s a good thing that we’re growing comfortable with the idea of employees being everywhere. But there’s a catch: that means our data is everywhere, too.

The global pandemic has opened up the door to challenges in many workplace environments. But with challenges also come opportunities. Many companies have had to create hybrid workplace plans to ensure work productivity doesn’t slow down. The development of the hybrid workplace strategy is a win-win for employees and businesses. This strategy offers the flexibility of working from home or the option of working on-site if the employee needs focus and a routine.

Remote working quickly became a must with the arrival of the global pandemic. Employees and employers alike have had to adapt quickly. Many companies were caught off guard when the health emergency was declared. Within days, employees were forced to work from home to limit the spread of COVID-19. Telecommuting has brought its own set of challenges to IT departments in order not to interfere with business operations.

At ServiceNow, we’ve adjusted to the changing times, encouraging our employees to work in the most efficient and safe ways available to them to embrace the new world of work. We’ve embraced the distributed work model. Three of our global employees are proving it’s possible to adapt to new working environments and thrive—no matter where they are. Their jobs have impacted their personal decisions to work remotely full time, in the office full time, or a hybrid of both.

The pandemic catalyzed a monumental shift in where and how people work. Amid all the uncertainty of emerging variants, returning to the old normal seems improbable. The success of the remote workforce experiment and the influx of newer generations with different work priorities also contribute to the unlikelihood of returning to offices full time. The decision of where to work is shifting from the employer to the employee.

Business leaders are always on the hunt for that life-changing book – the one that deepens their understanding of the workplace and provides an inspiring roadmap for the way forward. But with thousands of highly-praised books to choose from, it’s difficult to know which ones are retreading the same old ground and which contain truly groundbreaking insights. If you can relate, you’ve come to the right place.

Over the last two years much of the Global workforce has experienced remote working first-hand. Sound familiar? For many, this was a ‘career first’, changing their views on the effectiveness of remote working. The desire to be office based has reduced dramatically with people wanting to avoid time-consuming commutes. In a recent survey, a staggering 91% of US workers wanted home working to persist post pandemic.