It’s time to codify a “Remote Work Charter of Rights”.
The below represents a starting point - drafted internally - which we will seek to refine over time in collaboration with researchers, policy experts and, of course, remote workers.
1. The Right to Work Remotely
2. The Right to Work From Anywhere
3. The Right to Have a Life Beyond Work
4. The Right to Meaningful Human Connections
5. The Right to an Inclusive and Accessible Work Environment
6. The Right to Digital Privacy
7. The Right to Fair and Equitable Compensation
8. The Right to a Better Live via Remote Work
Our Philosophy
Reimagining our relationship with work.
Our culture’s worship of work has consumed our identities and disconnected us, slowly eroding the qualities of a rich, well-rounded human experience: community, independence and health. Some of us are aware of this and crave freedom. Many of us still don’t want to admit that we’ve neglected family and our personal dreams to chase promotions that cannot make us truly happy. But there is another way. One that prioritises relationships and experiences over empty productivity; that won’t make us sacrifice genuine productivity or career advancement as we maximise every minute of our absurdly short lives. We believe that remote work is a crucial piece of the puzzle. Not remote work during a pandemic, or under duress. But remote work where technology works for us instead of isolating or distracting us; where we have the ability and choice to work wherever, and however, we work best. True freedom means removing work as the primary source of our friendships, personal worth and communities. Instead, we aim to disrupt this paradigm and rebuild our identities so that we can live fuller, healthier lives.
If not now, when?
The time is now. The pandemic demolished any cultural and technological barriers that were preventing remote work adoption worldwide. Hundreds of millions of us were suddenly thrust into this lifestyle and bosses the world over did not witness the dreaded decline in productivity. Despite the issues and growing pains –and there were many of them– most people thrived. Now, we’re at a crossroads. Because so few of us were given the training, guidance and tools to implement remote work properly, we feel isolated and burnt-out. Because many managers still treat their employees like small children who can’t be trusted, we’ve seen a terrifying rise in digital leash technologies that track workers’ every move. That is why our campaign exists –to champion the overwhelming positives of remote work while pushing back against the profit-over-people mentality that threatens it.
This is for the whole world.
Some people still dismiss remote work issues as first-world problems. But the reality is the scope of these problems extends far beyond the borders of industrialised nations. Our radical aim is to leverage remote work so that it levels the global playing field and gives everyone, everywhere, the same opportunities, regardless of where they were born or live. Just because some of these topics are only currently relevant to the relatively privileged does not mean we should miss the opportunity to experiment with, and perfect, solutions. In three hundred years, these issues will be everyone’s problem. The decisions we make now matter. We have two choices: allow the forces currently dictating how we work and live to continue unchallenged, or bravely forge a world that finally has its priorities straight.
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