Hey Insiders, hope you’re having an epic Friday so far! I won’t blab on too much because we have a lot of goodness for you in today’s email…

Today’s email is a 5min 45sec read:

• 💥 Top takeaways from this year’s Running Remote

• 🇵🇹 Portugal calls digital nomads “fundamental”

• 📈 New studies show remote work is surging again

• 🏡 Airbnb’s new old offer

If you didn’t know (or weren’t able to attend) Running Remote 2023 took place last week so we called up some of the speakers & attendees to tell us what they thought were the top takeaways from the conference 👇

🔬 DEEP DIVE

Running Remote Rundown: The Top Takeaways From The World’s Largest Remote Work Conference

If you’ve never heard of Running Remote it’s one of the largest conferences solely dedicated to remote work and was launched in 2018 by the team behind TimeDoctor.

The conference quickly gained traction and its virtual editions during 2020 were instrumental in helping companies adjust to a remote work environment.

If you weren’t able to attend, don’t worry, we’re here to kill that FOMO because we reach out to some attendees and speakers and have their top takeaways from the conference right here 👇

1. At the moment we’re going through the “trough of disillusionment”

• Ryan Chartrand is the former CEO of X-Team and opened the conference with a banger talk during which he the remote work movement currently being in the “trough of disillusionment”

• The trough of disillusionment a common stage that follows most hype periods

• Ryan likened it to the time right after cars hit the market - chaos everywhere

• When the car was invented there were no lanes, gas stations, stop lights, or any other infrastructure to make the use of a vehicle very useful.

• We’re going through the same stage now as we develop the tools, processes, and new management styles for a remote work era

2. Nonetheless, remote work is maturing fast

• Chase Warrington, Head of Remote at Doist and host of the About Abroad podcast stressed that working remotely doesn’t mean never meeting in person.

• Many companies are starting to adopt retreats and offsites into their remote work plans without losing emphasis on async work

• There also seems to be some acceptance around hybrid work: “Last year it was very “remote-first”, whereas now, there seems to be an understanding that hybrid is more likely to be the reality for many companies“ said Warrington

• That being said we still have a lot of work to do on the async work front. Iwo Szapar co-founder of Remote-How highlighted that many companies still haven’t adopted the documentation culture needed for long-term success with remote work

3. AI’s effect on the future of work

• Warrington noted that many people were concerned about AI’s effect on younger workers as we begin to mass outsource lower-level tasks

• Gen Zers are already struggling to receive the level of mentorship they need in a remote setting, and many of them are turning to office jobs. AI may exasperate that divide

• On the topic of AI, Laïla von Alvensleben Head of New Ways of Working at Mural pointed out that many remote work tools including Almanac & Slite are launching AI assistants to help with documentation

4. Running Remote felt more like a community, and less like an event

• While RR started out as a conference, this year it really felt like more of a community

• There was a “real sense of community among the participants and speakers, and multiple people mentioned making new friends easily” said von Alvensleben

• Warrington echoed this saying “The content & presentations were top-notch, but the networking was the real star of the show“

While there has not been an official announcement regarding Running Remote 2024 a little birdie told us that it will once again take place in Lisbon, at the same venue (which everyone raved about) most likely sometime in April.

💬 FAV TWEET

Like a true leader, Yoda is leading by example and working from home!

🚨 WORD ON THE WEB

🎒 Digital nomads are fundamental to the country’s development, says Portugal’s Labor Minister

• In a recent interview, Portugal’s labor minister Ana Mendes Godinho emphasized the importance of attracting digital nomads specifically to the rural part of the country

• Foreigners already represent 10% of Portugal’s working force and account for €1.8 billion

• Since releasing its digital nomad visa in October 2022, Portugal has issued 550 nomad visas

💻 New data shows remote work is regaining momentum as employers embrace flexibility

• While remote work was experiencing a slight slump over the last few months, the popularity of remote work has risen by 28% according to the latest LinkedIn Workforce Confidence Index

• Between November 2022 and January 2023 the number of people working on site reduced by 50%

• Even though many CEOs are speaking out against remote work, their actions speak otherwise. Elon Musk for example is famously anti-remote work but shut down Twitter’s offices in Seattle & Singapore in order to reduce costs

🏡 Airbnb let its employees work from anywhere. Spolier alert: they’re loving it

• A year after announcing its Live and Work Anywhere program Airbnb is doing better than ever. They’ve reduced office footprint by 50% and saved a fortune on costs

• Airbnb employees are allowed to work from 170 different countries for up to 90 days per year per country

• While reduced costs are great, Airbnb is clear, this is about winning the best talent: "The best talent in the world is not all within a 50-mile radius of San Francisco," says Dave Stephenson, Airbnb’s CFO.

• In addition, Airbnb's employee attrition rate is close to an all-time low and falling.

📆 UPCOMING EVENTS:

May 24-28: Vivel [📍 Multiple Locations, Turkey] - networking meets music at this one-of-a-kind conference for location-independent professionals

May 28th-June 3: Nomad Cruise 11 [📍 Mediterranean Sea] - The original conference at sea is back! Join 250 digital nomads on board a cruise ship in the Med to discuss remote work, business, and personal growth

May 28-June 4: Porto Santo Nomad Fest [📍 Porto Santo, Portugal] - A festival celebrating the digital nomad community, on a beautiful island off the coast of Madeira. Limited attendance.

June 16-19: Camp Indie [📍 Kent, Connecticut] - adult summer camp & conference for digital nomads & those living an unconventional life

June 21-25: Remotion Festival [📍Burgas, Bulgaria] - A festival for remote workers, freelancers, & digital nomads highlighting the Burgas area as a hub for smart living

June 25-July 2: Bansko Nomad Fest [📍 Bansko, Bulgaria] - for digital nomads, freelancers, and founders in the mountains of Bulgaria

🎒 GEAR

The New Evergoods CTB 26L Backpack Could Be A Dream Come True For Digital Nomads

Last year Evergoods released their entry into the travel back category with their CTB 35L but at that size, it was always a bit too big to work as an everyday bag. Then at the start of 2023, Evergoods released a smaller, 26L version and we LOVE IT

The bag has enough room to fit everything you need for a weekend trip while still being small enough to not stand out at the coworking space or coffee shop

🌍 WFA JOBS:

I've teamed up with THE remote job coach Jordan Carroll to provide you with handpicked work-from-anywhere jobs right here in this newsletter:

⭐️ AI engineer @ Stickermule

⭐️ DevOps Engineer @ Kinsta

⭐️ Backend Node.js Developer @ Pixellu

Want help finding the right remote job for you? Join the Remote Collective and get introductions to dozens of remote companies looking to hire people like you!

Thanks for spending a few minutes of your day with us, we’d love to hear from you!

Please take a second and let us know what you like about the newsletter and if there is anything you think we can do better 👇

If you are enjoying this newsletter consider sharing it with someone you think may like it!

Send them this link!

Enjoy your weekend and see you Monday, Cheers 🍻

Today’s email was written by Mitko Karshovski