The Covid-19 lockdowns saw seasoned city-slickers trading in their cramped apartments for spacious yards.  Employees once limited to residing near their office locations switched to mandated or optional remote work.  And the shift to remote work is here to stay.  Companies like Facebook and Twitter are contemplating whether they will ever require employees to return to the office.  As the country shifts to the “new normal” molded by the Covid-19 pandemic, businesses and employees grapple with whether to return to fully in-person employment, continue remotely or with hybrid options, or start new employment paths altogether.  The phenomenon, dubbed “urban flight,” captured the public’s attention as an unanticipated result of the unprecedented pandemic. https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2021/04/19/upshot/how-the-pandemic-did-and-didnt-change-moves.html  Despite the multitude of tragedies resulting from the pandemic, some silver linings emerged, including the flexibility in lifestyle afforded to many employees by remote work.  This flexibility is so attractive to employees that 54% of employed adults have reported that they would want to work from home rather than return to the office post- pandemic. www.pewresearch.org/social-trends/2020/12/09/how-the-coronavirus-outbreak-has-and-hasnt-changed-the-way-americans-work/.  The shift positively impacted employers too.  Remote work resulted in a 47% increase in employee productivity. www.forbes.com/sites/chriswestfall/2020/05/20/new-survey-shows-47-increase-in-productivity-3-things-you-must-do-when-working-from-home/?sh=4fd42fc880dc

The option of remote work means employees can live wherever they choose.  The U.S. Postal Service reported 30 million change of address requests in 2020, with many of those changes indicating that employees are moving away from larger city-hubs and into smaller communities. Without offices tethering employees to specific locations, employees now possess the freedom to relocate wherever they choose while maintaining employment stability.  Meanwhile, less-populated states and rural communities have faced declining economies and populations due to the opportunities provided by cities.  Employees have sought city salaries and sacrificed spacious living, but the shift to remote work means they can get the best of both worlds.  Organizations that existed before the pandemic sought to entice remote-work employees toward remote locations.  Since 2020, numbers of applications to these programs have skyrocketed.  Local leaders of struggling communities took notice of the shift to remote work and city employees’ desire to move to more spacious environments.

From Curtis, Nebraska to Natchex, Mississippi, community-funded or private organizations provide a range of incentives like cash or housing to welcome remote workers to rejuvenate dwindling communities.  The new resident employees commit to live in the towns for at least one year, with their relocation stimulating the local economies and diversifying the communities.  These programs establish symbiotic relationships between the towns and the new residents, with both benefiting from the relocations.  The employees get the benefit of lower costs of living, more space, and plenty of outdoor experiences.

Do these relocation programs appeal to you?  Does your job permit you to work remotely?  If so, check out some of the programs mentioned above and take the leap!

For help with your small business needs, contact the Elon Law Small Business Clinic at businessclinic@elon.edu

 

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