Anecdotal Narrative on Remote Work Mobility and Cultural Commentary

The second field trip was a 30-day tour of Chinese family and food (pig face, anyone’), ending with Shumei Wu becoming Shumei Camarillo. Back in Palo Alto, HP continued its quest for world domination, neither knowing nor caring where Dave was. He had his calls forwarded to his newly begotten wife’s cell phone and all was right in the world. Now back in the U.S. after hoping for the best and preparing for the worst, Dave had earned his Eagle Scout mobility badge. The future looks flexible, indeed. He is going to start by spending two months in China every summer and then move to Australia and Europe to make up for lost time, all with the full support of his boss. The key to cutting the leash was simple—he asked for forgiveness instead of permission. “T didn’t travel for 30 years of my life—so why not?” THAT’S PRECISELY THE question everyone should be asking—why the hell not? From Caste to Castaway Tre old rich, the upper class of yore with castles and ascots and irritating little lapdogs, are characterized as being well-established in one place. The Schwarzes of Nantucket and the McDonnells of Charlottesville. Blech. Summers in the Hamptons is sooooo 1990s. The guard is changing. Being bound to one place will be the new defining feature of middle class. The New Rich are defined by a more elusive power than simple cash—unrestricted mobility. This jet-setting is not limited to start-up owners or freelancers. Employees can pull it off, too = Not only can they pull it off, but more and more companies want them to pull it off. BestBuy, the consumer electronics giant, is now sending thousands of employees home from their HQ in Minnesota and claims not only lowered costs, but also a 10-20% increase in results. The new mantra is this: Work wherever and whenever you want, but get your work done. In Japan, a three-piece zombie who joins the 9-5 grind each morning is called a sarari-man —salaryman—and, in the last few years, a new verb has emerged: datsu-sara suru, to escape (datsu) the salaryman (sara) lifestyle. It’s your turn to learn the datsu-sara dance.22 Trading Bosses for Beer: An Oktoberfest Case Study T. create the proper leverage to be unshackled, we’ll do two things: demonstrate the business benefit of remote working and make it too expensive or excruciating to refuse a request for it. Remember Sherwood? His French shirts are beginning to move and he is itching to ditch the U.S. for a global walkabout. He has more than enough cash now but needs to escape constant supervision in the office before he can HOUSE_OVERSIGHT_013940