29. Working from Anywhere with Raj Choudhury

At Work with The Ready

For years, the conversation around remote work has been stuck in binary debates. Home vs. office? Productivity vs. flexibility? Control vs. chaos? But what if we zoomed out and asked a better question: What kind of future is possible if people could actually work from anywhere?

This week, Rodney and Sam sit down with Raj Choudhury (Harvard Business School professor and author of The World Is Your Office) to explore what happens when companies stop fixating on location and start designing for freedom, trust, and real human needs. From engineering serendipity to reimagining hybrid models, they unpack how truly distributed work changes everything: how we meet, how we lead, how we grow talent, and how we build a more equitable future.

Learn more about Raj and his work by following him on LinkedIn and reading his new book: The World Is Your Office: How Work from Anywhere Boosts Talent, Productivity and Innovation.

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Mentioned References:

• US Patent Office study
• TEAPP (Telework Enhancement Act Pilot Program)
• Sid Sijbrandij and GitHub episode: BNW Ep. 35
• Darren Murph
• The Allen curve
• homophily
• Tulsa Remote
• Zapier and "Wade Bot"
• algorithm aversion

00:00 Intro + Check-In: What’s your favorite aspect of being able to work from anywhere?

03:49 Central focus: How do organizations access distant talent?

08:20 How work from anywhere is different from work from home

11:08 Rethinking in-person days

19:23 The data doesn’t support RTO mandates

24:13 Dispelling productivity concerns

27:15 Unlocking digital twins in the workplace

34:05 Small towns being competitive for talent

38:04 AI’s role in work from anywhere

45:09 Where to look ahead for the next 5 years

47:10 Wrap up: Leave us a review and share this show with a coworker!

Sound engineering and design by Taylor Marvin of ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Coupe Studios⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.