Stefan, great piece. I've been traveling a bit in North America and connecting with my network globally and have noticed how hard hit the US businesses has been compared to other countries by COVID. And within the US, certain states and cities have shut down "harder" and "longer" than other cities and states. One of the most extreme example has been San Francisco, where we shut down first in the US and have stayed shut longest. It is a supply shock in the workforce, the economy, and with SMBs. This must-have caused many workers in SF to become remote. BUT... SF has just eased many of its strictist shutdown policies - barbershops can open indoors for the first time since early March - and within the last 5 days, there has been a large uptick of people and movement. If this continues with schools opening in-person and MUNI and other services returning, do you think this puts pressure on the WFH for SF workers, and by proxy, such a headline grabbing percentage of workers and teh WFH trend/lifestyle? Said another way, if SF rebounds, which I am seeing and feeling firsthand, will that slow the WFH on the West Coast tech scene?
If there's a rebound in terms of people figuring out how to safely engage in community life (even if on limited scope), I think it could stem people running from the city. There are always people who actually like the city, regardless of if they have to isolate.
On the flip side, an easing could be a signal to "get out while you can," while could result in a short-term increase in people leaving for fear of another total lockdown. Whether this happens or not, in my opinion, will be a function of if there's belief that easing is permanent versus on a test-basis or to ease the boiling point of tolerance levels (basically: get it out of your system before being locked down again).
Stefan, great piece. I've been traveling a bit in North America and connecting with my network globally and have noticed how hard hit the US businesses has been compared to other countries by COVID. And within the US, certain states and cities have shut down "harder" and "longer" than other cities and states. One of the most extreme example has been San Francisco, where we shut down first in the US and have stayed shut longest. It is a supply shock in the workforce, the economy, and with SMBs. This must-have caused many workers in SF to become remote. BUT... SF has just eased many of its strictist shutdown policies - barbershops can open indoors for the first time since early March - and within the last 5 days, there has been a large uptick of people and movement. If this continues with schools opening in-person and MUNI and other services returning, do you think this puts pressure on the WFH for SF workers, and by proxy, such a headline grabbing percentage of workers and teh WFH trend/lifestyle? Said another way, if SF rebounds, which I am seeing and feeling firsthand, will that slow the WFH on the West Coast tech scene?
Interesting question! Honestly, I am not sure.
If there's a rebound in terms of people figuring out how to safely engage in community life (even if on limited scope), I think it could stem people running from the city. There are always people who actually like the city, regardless of if they have to isolate.
On the flip side, an easing could be a signal to "get out while you can," while could result in a short-term increase in people leaving for fear of another total lockdown. Whether this happens or not, in my opinion, will be a function of if there's belief that easing is permanent versus on a test-basis or to ease the boiling point of tolerance levels (basically: get it out of your system before being locked down again).