You want the freedom to work in ways that fit your life. The chance to step away, focus without interruptions, and decide where and when you work best. Conversations that once centred around office perks like ping-pong tables and parking spots are now shifting to deeper topics. Control over time and how it is spent.
I asked what work perks actually matter. Out of four options, two stood out. A 4-day work week and the freedom to work from anywhere. Both reflect how much people want to take back control over their time. giving themselves the freedom to work where and when they like.
Basecamp has been running a 4-day work week for years. Companies everywhere are starting to test it, hoping to see similar results. Many report higher productivity and less burnout when people work fewer days without a pay cut. The model is simple. Work four days and get three days off.
4-day setups often still require 40 hours. Instead of five 8-hour days, you work four 10-hour days. Longer days can feel relentless. Without adjusting workloads, the extra day off becomes a catch-up day instead of a break.
Some use the extra day to catch up on things they missed during the week. Others focus on personal projects or completely switch off. For those in creative or strategic roles, stepping away for a day can spark fresh ideas.
Compressed schedules force people to prioritise. Less time for distractions means more focus on high-impact work. Meetings that once dragged on get cut or disappear. Low-value tasks fall away.
4-day work weeks without adjusting expectations can lead to burnout. The same amount of work in less time adds pressure. Protecting the fifth day as a real day off keeps it sustainable. Focusing on outcomes instead of hours worked makes it effective.
Most people opted the freedom to work from anywhere. This isn’t just working from home. It is about working from a beach café in Bali, a co-working space in Mexico, or an Airbnb in the French countryside. Experiencing new places while still getting work done.
While leading my team from Thailand, a few of them took the chance to travel. Co-working spaces in Bali, cafés in Amsterdam, or WeWorks in the UK became their offices. That choice brought in new perspectives and changed how they approached their work.
Changing the environment can act as a reset. Conversations with other remote workers can shift perspective. New surroundings can bring in ideas that do not come from the same four walls.
Time zones that once aligned become difficult to manage. Meetings that worked for South Africa and the UK became logistical headaches when someone moved to Bali and another to Mexico. Standups that once happened live turned into written updates in emails. Real-time feedback became recorded clips and Slack threads.
Coordination became a challenge. Some weeks, everything lined up. Other weeks, I was on calls at 2am for workshops with clients in the US. Co-working spaces that seemed ideal in photos became problems when construction noise drowned out calls and the wifi kept dropping.
Boundaries start to blur. Working from anywhere can quickly turn into working from everywhere. Coffee shops become workstations. Hostels and budget rentals become meeting rooms. Staying accessible at all times becomes an expectation.
Switching the scenery can spark new ways of thinking. Conversations with other remote workers can lead to connections that would not happen at home. New spaces can spark ideas that do not come from staring at the same walls. This isn’t about working from a beach with a laptop. It is about finding focus in places that feel different.
Creating structure and clarity helps people thrive. Employees make it work by using that freedom responsibly and delivering at a high level. Supporting both the 4-day work week and work from anywhere setups means setting clear expectations.
Making a 4-day work week work
- Define what needs to be delivered each week.
- Cut unnecessary meetings. Written updates keep momentum without constant calls.
- Protect deep work time. Block hours for focused work.
- Keep the fifth day as a real day off. Last-minute requests undermine the point.
- Monitor workloads. Adjust expectations if work spills over.
Supporting work from anywhere
- Establish core hours for overlapping work periods.
- Keep work visible. Tools like Miro, Figma, and Slack make that possible.
- Clarify availability expectations. People need to know when they are expected to respond.
- Stay connected. Regular one-on-ones keep people aligned.
- Reinforce boundaries. Clear guidelines prevent burnout.
Flexibility without structure leads to chaos. Support systems make these setups sustainable. Employees make it work by respecting that freedom and delivering at a high level.
Some want a 4-day work week. Others want work from anywhere. The autonomy over how work gets done can lead to more engaged teams and meaningful work.
Teams that feel trusted to manage their time and work from places that inspire them often show up with more energy and focus. People who have freedom over how they work tend to be more invested in what they do.
Creating options for people to work in ways that fit their lives is what matters. This isn’t about perks. It is about giving people the chance to shape their work in ways that make sense, whether that means a 4-day work week, work from anywhere, or both.
