In this week’s article, we look at the different levels of freedom that can be achieve by working a flexible remote role. Since there are a lot of newer readers here this is a good starting point to chart out your path to WFH freedom. Remember the goal is both financial freedom and time freedom.
The following post is inspired by the below tweet from a few months ago:
The evolution of remote work has introduced various levels of work-from-home (WFH) freedom, profoundly impacting the technology sector and its workforce. This article delves into these levels, exploring their implications and challenges for professionals in tech and other industries.
Level 0 - Return to Office (RTO aka Prison)
The traditional office-centric model Professionals at this level face the most constraints, dealing with commutes and limited flexibility. Companies adhering to RTO often emphasize in-person collaboration but may struggle with talent retention in the current remote-work-friendly climate.
Example: Bank Teller at JP Morgan Chase
Job Duties: A bank teller at JP Morgan Chase engages in face-to-face customer interactions, manages transactions, and addresses client inquiries. This role is quintessentially Level 0 as it mandates physical presence in the bank, reflecting limited WFH flexibility. The job's nature, requiring direct customer service and handling of sensitive financial operations, necessitates a traditional, office-based setting.
Benefits
None - you are stuck still stuck in the box/cubicle. You commute to your 9-5 everyday and waste precious time you could be spending on your hobbies, with your loved ones or building a business. To make matters worse if there is a lull in the day you are basically wasting your time because your stuck at the office to preform your duties or for “optics” literal losing hours of your life.
GET OUT AS FAST AS YOU CAN.
The only upside to this lifestyle is if you are in a traveling role in which your accommodation and meals are paid for (e.g. management consulting) then at the very least you are saving some money.
Time Saved: 0 Hrs / Week
Level 1 - Hybrid
A blend of remote and in-office work. This level offers more flexibility but still requires some physical presence in the office. For workers, it's a balance between home and office environments, allowing for direct team interactions while also enjoying some benefits of remote work. Usually involved going in for a set amount of times in a given week (e.g. Tues-Thurs).
Example: Marketing Specialist at Ogilvy
Job Duties: A marketing specialist at Ogilvy would typically develop marketing strategies, create content, and coordinate campaigns. This role fits into Level 1 as it combines the need for occasional in-person brainstorming and collaboration sessions with the flexibility of remote work on days where in-person meetings are not scheduled. Hybrid working allows the blending of creative group efforts in the office with the focus and autonomy of remote work.
Benefits
Reduced Commute Times and Half Days - Although you are still forced to be in the city that your office location is based in, you now gain back time on the days that you are remote. If you opt to work remote on Fridays you can essentially take a half day and run any errands you like. This leaves more free time on the weekend for enjoyment and/or your productive activity of choice.
Time Saved: 8 Hrs / Week or 17 Days of your Life
Level 2 - Fully Remote (Domestic)
Complete freedom from the office but within national boundaries. Professionals at this level enjoy significant flexibility, often leading to better work-life balance and productivity. You are basically allowed to work from anywhere within the continental United States. This means you have the potential to earn a SF/NYC salary in San Antonio provided you can get around your company down grading your salary. This is the ideal end goal for most people in the US who want a high salary but more autonomy in their day to day life.
Example: Product Manager at DoorDash
Job Duties: A product manager at DoorDash oversees product development cycles, liaises between different teams, and ensures product-market fit. Operating at Level 2, this role leverages the flexibility of working from anywhere within the country, without the need for a fixed office space. This position exemplifies the balance between remote autonomy and maintaining alignment with domestic operations and time zones. Since a lot of the work is knowledge work and is also internal (i.e non-client facing) you essentially can take all your meetings over zoom.
Benefits
Complete Flexibility in Schedule for IC Work - At this stage you have complete flexibility of your schedule outside mandatory calls with your teams. In this position you will typically get more freedom the more IC (individual contributor) work that you do. Naturally you will have to figure out a balance between IC work and management as you move up with the company to ensure your salary remains competitive.
You now no longer suffer from having to commute. You now no longer spend mindless time at the office scrolling when work is slow. You can live where you want in the US (domestic geo-arbitrage). You can handle all your errands and chores during the weekdays and truly leave the weekends as dedicate free time. Life is great.
Time Saved: 16 Hrs / Week or 34 Days of your Life (1 Month)
Level 3 - Globally Remote
The pinnacle of remote work freedom, allowing professionals to work from anywhere in the world. This level offers unparalleled flexibility and the opportunity to explore different cultures and environments. Not only does it allow users to work from different countries, the work is timezone agnostic (for the most part). You work on your portion/project or contribution to the company whenever and wherever you want. Most roles in this category fall into the gig-eonomy/upwork type of role but there are a very select few rare scenarios where you will be able to find a high salaried tech job that is globally remote. These typically will be at smaller to mid stage companies as big companies will have multiple regional offices and be subject to stricter tax laws.
For those currently at Level 2, the aspiration for Level 3 involves negotiating the complexities of international time zones and compensation models. The pursuit of a globally remote career in tech often requires strategic planning, including understanding how different companies and roles accommodate global remote work and weighing the trade-offs between location independence and other job aspects like salary and career progression.
Example: Developer/Designer at Gumroad
Job Duties: A developer/designer at Gumroad might work on website development, user interface design, and product enhancement. At Level 3, this role embodies the ultimate WFH freedom, allowing professionals to work from any global location. This level of flexibility suits roles that are highly digital and non-collaborative in nature, where work is submitted online, and team collaboration can occur across different time zones.
Benefits
Flexibility + GeoArbitrage: At this stage you have complete flexibility in addition to the benefit of global geo arbitrage. This benefit cannot be understated, especially when young and without any dependents, you can go anywhere you want and live like a king (assuming you are getting paid in US dollars).
GeoArb Example:
As a salary of $150,000 in the US is quite high (top 10% of US households). Take that and move to Thailand and now you are the top 0.1%. An average luxury high rise in Thailand cost 30,000 Baht (~$1,000). You could eat nice meals (~$800), have a drive (~$1,000) and a maid ($700) and still be paying less than the average 1 bed room rent in a New York City Apartment.
Note: This is not hypothetical, BTW has gone and done this for an extended period of time. Image is from a real condo that has 25,000 Baht Monthly Rent.
Time Saved: 16 Hrs / Week or 34 Days of your life (+Additional Years of Life from High Quality of Living)
In conclusion, each level of WFH freedom aligns with specific job roles, reflecting how duties and work environments vary across the spectrum of remote work possibilities. From the traditional setting of a bank teller to the global flexibility of a developer at Gumroad, each role has unique requirements and freedoms based on its WFH level. The choice is up to you, stay in the box or strive to break out of it and achieve a better life.