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Spotify’s CHRO has reacted to the current drive to end remote working and bring people back to the office, saying workers shouldn’t be treated “like children”.
While many tech companies are seeking to enforce return-to-office mandates, Spotify is doubling down on its work-from-anywhere policy, choosing not to recall its employees to their desks.
CHRO Katarina Berg highlighted the company's approach to flexible working, built around a belief that employees should be treated as adults.
“We are a business that’s been digital from birth, so why shouldn’t we give our people flexibility and freedom? Work is not a place you come to; it’s something you do,” Berg told Raconteur.
Financial benefits to remote working
The music-streaming giant has embraced remote work since 2021, granting employees the freedom to choose where they work as long as there is a Spotify office in the region.
The decision does not appear to have had an adverse effect units financial performance, with its market value almost doubling this year, spurred by record quarterly revenues and cost-cutting measures that included a major restructuring last December when the company reduced its workforce by 17% laying off 1,500 people.
While the layoffs helped the bottom line, they impacted employee morale and came as a shock to many employees.
"Spotify had been in hypergrowth, and this was the only thing people knew,” she said.
Given that, it seems feasible that the streaming pioneer may not want to exacerbate things with a return to office mandate and risk nixing its engagement levels altogether.
Challenges of flexible work
Despite the benefits, Berg acknowledged that there were challenges posed by virtual collaboration but maintained that they weren’t sufficient to see it abandon its remote-first stance.
“It is harder, and we all struggle to collaborate in a virtual environment,” she said. “But does that mean that we will start forcing people to come into the office as soon as there is a trend for it? No.”
Spotify’s flexible work model has had positive effects on employee retention and diversity, with attrition rates 15% lower in the second quarter of 2022 compared to 2019. The company has also seen improvements in the diversity of its talent pool, attributed in part to the broad reach of its remote work policy.
The firm has introduced initiatives such as “core week,” during which employees are encouraged to gather in the office for strategic discussions and team bonding and also hosts “listening lounge” sessions featuring popular artists like Olivia Dean and Rag’n’Bone Man, offering staff additional reasons to come into the office (or stay away) beyond regular work duties.
