The Advisors' Blog

– Lynn Jokela

Through the last year, the Covid-19 pandemic forced many companies to shift to remote-work options.  Streaming service Spotify recently announced it’s moving to a work-from-anywhere policy and going even further, this Business Insider story reports it’ll continue to pay San Francisco or New York salary rates based on the type of job.  This excerpt describes some potential benefits of the approach, including a hopeful impact on pay equity:

Spotify’s Travis Robinson, head of diversity, inclusion, and belonging, said the move will promote work-life balance, employee happiness, and inclusion. ‘This is an opportunity to scrap the idea that big cities are the only places where meaningful work can happen because we know first-hand that isn’t true. We want employees to come as they are, wherever they are and whatever their circumstances are,’ he said.  The new program will also promote pay equity. ‘Black employees historically have been discriminated against when it comes to pay and growth opportunity, and it is likely the local market pay is lower than a comparable city with a large white population,’ Robinson said.

We’ll see whether more companies start moving toward a work-from-anywhere approach and whether the impact of this approach makes measurable gains. In theory, the approach has the potential to positively impact pay equity as it can make more high-paying and specialized roles available in broader areas that might offer more diverse talent pools.