When Did Remote Work Start to Feel Like a Luxury?

Remote work feels like a luxury because it lets you design your life around your work, not squeeze life in around it. You get to build your day on your own terms: start slow, find your rhythm, and shape a routine that works whether you’re deep in the woods or dialled in at your desk. It’s flexible, spacious, and when done right, leaves more room for growth, focus, and creative flow.

“The right conditions shape how people work and grow. Remote work gives you the space to build a life that supports both, in a way that feels sustainable.” - Debora Deva

Lily Fletcher reflects on how the advertising and creative industries have historically clung to presenteeism, valuing physical presence over outcomes. In her article, she makes quite a good point about how the pandemic forced agencies into remote work, breaking long-held norms and revealing that alternative ways of working were not only possible but, in some cases, more humane and productive.
 

“For years, the industry seemed to think that the only way to manage a studio was to run it like a factory floor. While this might make sense in other industries, I’ve found that great creative ideas are born from how we see the world, not where we sit.” - Lily Fletcher
 

Now, as hybrid models become the norm, agency leadership is split. Many senior leaders want a return to the office, citing concerns about “agency culture.” But Fletcher argues this nostalgia is rooted more in legacy mindsets than actual business need. She challenges the industry to move beyond binary models of “remote vs office” and instead build work environments that foster psychological safety, inclusion, and genuine collaboration, regardless of location.

This isn’t just about where we work. It’s about who gets to lead, who gets to speak, and how the industry defines “culture” moving forward. Fletcher’s call is clear: if we want better creative outcomes, we need to rethink power, not just proximity.

One of the biggest concerns in the creative industries has been whether collaboration and innovation can truly thrive without everyone in the same room. But finding the right people for the right project is a win–win. While serendipity is valuable, data is beginning to dispel the myth that in-person work is inherently better for creative collaboration. Recent research by Culture Amp, analyzing employee feedback from hundreds of companies, found that remote employees reported more positive feelings about collaboration and communication than their office-based peers.
 

Agility, authenticity, and craftsmanship will define the future of creative agencies. As hybrid and remote models become standard, the tension hasn’t disappeared; it has just shifted. Some leaders still push for a full return, often in the name of “culture.” Fletcher’s point is that this is less about culture and more about habit. The real question isn’t where people sit, but whether the environment allows them to think clearly, speak openly, and contribute without friction. If those conditions are in place, location starts to matter less. There’s also a practical side to this. One concern has been whether collaboration suffers when people aren’t in the same room. The data doesn’t fully support that. In large employee surveys, remote workers often report stronger communication and collaboration than office-based teams. The difference isn’t the space itself, but how the work is structured. At the same time, many countries have settled into hybrid models across the US, UK, and much of Western Europe, a large share of remote-capable workers now split time between home and office, but while this brings flexibility and improves retention, it also makes coordination more complex, reduces informal interaction, and can leave remote participants less visible in the flow of work.
 

That said, hybrid and remote work can look simple on paper. In practice, the strain shows up in a few places: managing your time without cues and keeping a clear line between work and life, which can blur quickly. Without structure, the day stretches, and work spills into the evening, so rest gets shallow, and you have to rely on discipline to stay focused and know when to stop. Research from periods of large-scale work-from-home shows that procrastination is common and that self-discipline directly shapes both performance and well-being. When structure disappears, you have to build your own.

There’s also a quieter challenge around visibility. When you’re not physically present, it’s easier for your work to go unnoticed, especially in larger teams. Recognition becomes less automatic. You have to be more deliberate about sharing progress, documenting decisions, and making your contributions visible without turning it into self-promotion. Staying aligned with a team also takes more effort. It usually means clearer ownership and more frequent check-ins. From the outside, that structure can seem like overkill, but without it, the work doesn’t break all at once; it just gets heavier, slower, and harder to carry over time. What looks like extra structure is often what keeps the work manageable, and without a proper setup and some basic routine, the strain builds. At the same time, the model creates real advantages. Companies offering remote or hybrid work see up to 25% lower employee turnover, and a large share of employees say flexibility is a key reason they stay. Hiring has widened too, with over 60% of employers now recruiting across borders, which expands the talent pool and often reduces costs. Remote work has also opened access for people who were previously constrained by location or schedule, including parents, caregivers, and those outside major cities.