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🚦Coming up

In today’s edition

🎧 Why Spotify's Remote Work Philosophy Matters | The 3-Word Policy That's Changing the Game

🛋️ The Break Room: How does your company's remote work philosophy compare to Spotify's "work is something you do" approach?

📚 Human Readsources: Corporate DEI initiatives losing momentum, Gen Z pivoting to trade careers, and the ongoing battle over return-to-office mandates.

💭Opening thoughts

Inspirational remote work playlist loading…

While 72% of companies struggle with return-to-office mandates and productivity monitoring, Spotify reduced attrition by 15% with a radically different approach to remote work.

Their strategic advantage stems from five transformative words—"work is something you do"—which fundamentally reframes workplace expectations and eliminates geographical constraints while improving diversity metrics.

HR leaders are discovering that Spotify's "Work from Anywhere" policy isn't just an employee perk but a competitive talent strategy that treats professionals as autonomous, results-oriented adults rather than resources requiring constant supervision.

For easy reading

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🧠Let’s unpick

🔍 Why Spotify's Remote Work Philosophy Matters

The Swedish streaming giant’s philosophy of “work is something you do, not somewhere you go” treats employees like adults capable of making their own decisions about where they work best.

As HR professionals, we're constantly caught between executive demands for "office culture" and employee desires for flexibility. Spotify shows there's another way.

As their CHRO Katarina Berg bluntly puts it: "You can't spend a lot of time hiring grown-ups and then treat them like children". While many companies fear remote work hampers collaboration, Spotify addresses this with structured "core weeks" for in-person strategy discussions.

For HR leaders, the lesson isn't necessarily to copy Spotify's exact policy, but to question rigid thinking about where work happens. Especially in the age of AI and the numerous economic and personal factors that influence where someone is likely to work best.

Consider reimagining your offices as collaboration hubs rather than mandatory workplaces, and invest in the latest new communication tools and tech that support remote teams.

Most importantly, examine whether your policies reflect trust in your employees or an outdated need for control.

You can read more at...

🔗 Spotify Maintains Remote Work Policy Despite Tech Industry Trend (Fortune)

🔗 Spotify's Work-from-Anywhere Policy Defies Tech Industry Return-to-Office Trend (Amazing Workplaces)

🔗 Spotify Defends Work-From-Anywhere Policy Despite Corporate Return Trends (Entrepreneur)

👀Too long didn’t read

TLDR

💪 Trust your people to work from anywhere and treat them like adults – Spotify's remote strategy proves that focusing on what employees do (not where they sit) leads to better retention, faster hiring, and more diverse teams.

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🎬Lights, camera, action!

Takeaway and try

📊 Survey employees on where they feel most productive rather than assuming the office is best; use this data when presenting flexibility options to leadership.

🤝 Schedule quarterly "core weeks" for teams to collaborate in-person on strategic initiatives while maintaining flexibility the rest of the time.

🏢 Reimagine your office space as a collaboration hub with bookable meeting areas and social zones rather than rows of mandatory desks.

🔍 Conduct a policy audit to identify where your workplace rules reflect control rather than trust; start by eliminating unnecessary monitoring of remote workers.

💬 Create a simple exercise where leaders complete ""Work is _____"" and use the results to spark meaningful conversations about your company's relationship with flexibility.

☕The break room

What’s your take?

📚Additional reading

Human Readsources

⚖️ Corporate DEI Commitments Fade After 2020 Racial Awakening (HR Brew) - Companies abandon DEI commitments amid political and social pressure.

👷 Gen Z Grads Pivot to Trades Amid AI Concerns (HR Dive) - Gen Z increasingly choosing trade jobs over white-collar careers.

🏠 Remote Work Declines Yet Remains Above Pre-Pandemic Levels (HR Grapevine) - Remote work declining but remains higher than pre-pandemic levels.

That’s it for today.

Thanks for reading to the end and we hope today’s edition sparked some new ideas for your workplace! 🧠

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