At a glance
- Work-from-anywhere removes geographic constraints, expanding recruitment beyond local talent pools.
- Cost savings come from reduced office space and improved operational efficiency.
- The success of work-from-anywhere depends on managing isolation, using virtual connection strategies.
Hybrid work has found its rhythm in the UK. Despite headlines about a surge in return-to-office mandates, research shows the proportion of hybrid workers has gradually risen since 2022, and now makes up more than a quarter of the workforce.
The rise of hybrid working
Percentage of working adults by working arrangements, Great Britain, May 2020 to March 2025
The flexibility afforded by hybrid work has already transformed where and how many people work.
But what if businesses took that flexibility one step further?
In The World Is Your Office: How Work from Anywhere Boosts Talent, Productivity, and Innovation, London School of Economics professor Prithwiraj Choudhury makes the case for a work-from-anywhere (WFA) model – one that goes beyond the familiar hybrid setup.
Where hybrid work keeps people tethered to a particular location, work-from-anywhere removes that constraint entirely, allowing businesses to cast a wider recruitment net, operate more efficiently and offer genuine flexibility to their people.
“While in-person work was the past, and traditional hybrid appears to be the present,” writes Choudhury, “WFA is the future.”
His book draws on more than a decade of research into remote and flexible work, starting well before COVID-19 pushed them into the mainstream. It offers a comprehensive, evidence-based look at what it takes to make WFA work in businesses of any size.
Here are six key takeaways from the book, and why they matter for accountancy firms and their clients.
1. The bigger talent pool
Small and medium enterprises (SMEs) often lose out on top candidates to larger firms with deeper pockets and better-known brands. But work-from-anywhere levels the playing field. Smaller players can suddenly compete for candidates from anywhere. And the talent pool doesn’t just get wider; it gets better and more diverse.
Choudhury cites a study by Wharton which found that changing job description postings to “remote” resulted in a 15% increase in female applicants, a 33% increase in underrepresented minority applicants and a 17% increase in total applicant experience. “Ultimately, embracing WFA policies will help companies both large and small compete in the global talent market, because many top-tier workers are actively searching out WFA roles,” he says.
2. Not just for the laptop brigade
Choudhury sees as increasingly outdated the idea that remote work only suits digital-first industries. “While it might be easy for leaders to dismiss WFA as relevant only to technology companies and other startups, they would be wrong,” he says. “In fact, with a combination of sensors, automation, cloud technologies and AI, WFA is primed to expand into any number of new industries.”
For example, in healthcare, work-from-anywhere might mean remote diagnostics or telehealth support. In manufacturing and logistics, it can include using digital twins, sensor networks and cloud platforms to oversee operations remotely. In agriculture, drones and real-time monitoring tools allow workers to manage farms and supply chains from hundreds of kilometres away.
Accountants should take note of this shift. It signals that work-from-anywhere isn’t just for tech firms with big budgets: with the right tools, flexible thinking and a willingness to experiment, SMEs in any sector can adapt WFA principles to their own contexts.
3. Work-from-anywhere can shrink the bills
Accountants know that running a small business means managing margins carefully – and Choudhury’s research shows WFA can offer meaningful savings. Among the biggest and most immediate is a reduced need for office space. With fewer employees commuting daily – perhaps none at all – businesses can downsize their premises, share coworking spaces or go fully remote.
Some have. GitLab, a software firm with over 2,000 employees scattered across 60 countries (and no headquarters to speak of), estimates it saves around $US18,000 (£13,360) per employee annually on property, utilities, and other administrative overheads. For any business, that is a considerable sum to reinvest elsewhere.
SMEs may not see numbers that large, but the principle holds: every dollar not spent on rent, utilities and maintenance is a dollar that can go toward business development, staff training or financial reserves.
For accountancy firms already using cloud accounting tools and virtual client meetings, embracing WFA could be a natural next step to reduce fixed costs and improve operational resilience.
4. WFA requires a conscious effort to build connection
Despite the gains associated with WFA, Choudhury acknowledges that the model has its challenges. He addresses three specific concerns around WFA models: a breakdown in communication, a lack of knowledge-sharing and the potential for employee isolation. Each of these has practical solutions.
To ensure WFA doesn’t jeopardise clear and consistent communication, he suggests setting up clear systems for asynchronous work where people don’t need to be online at the same time to stay aligned.
Meanwhile, promoting knowledge-sharing is about codifying information in searchable, centralised repositories, like digital handbooks or meeting archives.
To combat employee isolation, he recommends semi-regular offsite meetups and “virtual watercoolers” to foster social connection.
“While in-person work was the past, and traditional hybrid appears to be the present… WFA is the future.”
Prithwiraj Choudhury, Professor of Organisational Behaviour, London School of Economics and Political Science
“Virtual watercoolers… are designed to facilitate random virtual interactions, so workers do not know in advance whom they will meet,” he says.
“These events are designed to give workers the chance to expand their social ties at work, as well as to learn about the company, its business plans and its ongoing projects.”
5. Considering the role of national and regional policies
While WFA expands where and how people can work, it also raises important questions about compliance. Choudhury stresses that flexibility must be balanced with an understanding of local laws and obligations.
Allowing employees to work from different states or countries tends to trigger different tax rules, employment laws and compliance obligations, he explains, which can place a significant administrative burden on SMEs without dedicated HR and legal functions.
To simplify things, he recommends using an Employer of Record (EOR) – a local firm that acts as the legal employer on your behalf. The EOR manages contracts, payroll, benefits and compliance, allowing the business to hire across borders without setting up its own legal entity.
Particularly for small firms considering overseas hiring, EORs provide a low-risk way to expand internationally.
6. Getting started with the WFA model
Adopting a WFA model doesn’t require an overnight transformation. Choudhury outlines a flexible, phased path that allows firms to shift at their own pace – starting with changes to how hybrid work is structured.
For firms currently operating under a hybrid model with weekly in-office requirements, he suggests transitioning to monthly requirements (for example, five days per month rather than one day per week). A monthly rhythm provides more flexibility over work location without losing the benefits of face-to-face interaction.
“The next stepping stone to WFA is what I call the quarterly hybrid approach, which gives teams the flexibility to schedule their in-person time on a quarterly basis and allows them to meet at locations outside of the office,” he says. “This is the ideal WFA setup.”
For small firms, the appeal of this approach lies in its flexibility. It doesn’t demand a total overhaul, but it does invite leaders to rethink the purpose of the office, and explore what’s possible when geography is no longer a constraint.
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