with Kaleem Clarkson
Chief Operating Officer, Blend Me, Inc. / Remote Work Expert / Speaker
I was excited to have a heart-to-heart discussion with a fellow remote work thought leader, Kaleem Clarkson. Kaleem and I met at SXSW in March 2023, and despite living in different countries with different backgrounds, we have a very similar perspective on flexibility and human-focused workplaces.
Episode 71 | Fighting the Good Fight for Workplace Flexibility: Why Remote Work Can’t Go Away!
Tell us how you became a thought leader and advocate for remote work.
Kaleem explains how he grew up in Maine and in 2006 decided to move to Atlanta, Georgia, with his partner. Yet he dreamed of spending his summers on the water back in Maine and working remotely from there became a possibility. Kaleem saw a leader speak about how he took his company fully remote, yet felt closer to his employees than ever before. “This made me realize remote work was possible,” Kaleem explains. He and his partner started Blend Me, Inc. in 2013, and when the pandemic hit Kaleem decided to leave his engineering job to work full-time at Blend Me to help workplaces successfully navigate remote work.
What trends are you seeing when it comes to remote and hybrid workplaces?
“Leadership nostalgia”, a term that arose in Slack’s Future Forum, is pretty much the major cause of why people are being forced back into the office, Kaleem explains. He feels it’s really disappointing that with all of the innovation and ability to adapt, so many organizations are throwing this away and calling everyone back. “Remote work can’t go away because the people want it!” he explains.
Kaleem has been trying to gain more empathy for leaders who don’t know any other way. They moved up the ranks through face-time at the office (or on the golf course…). Going back to the way things used to be, explains Kaleem, is what they’re familiar and comfortable with.
I agree with Kaleem about “leadership nostalgia”, but would add that it’s also about the fear of losing productivity, profits and control.
“Leadership nostalgia”, a term that arose in Slack’s Future Forum, is pretty much the major cause of why people are being forced back into the office, Kaleem explains.
What is the current landscape when it comes to remote workplaces deciding to stay remote or pull people back?
Kaleem says that there are many stories of success going on with remote/hybrid work, yet the ones getting the press are large enterprises that don’t tell the full story of the business landscape. A lot of smaller businesses don’t get the press around their remote work, yet they are thriving with it.
Offices are still not full, Kaleem reminds us. “Remote work isn’t going away.” One thing that’s not getting a lot of press is how remote work has impacted the non-profit sector, described Kaleem. By saving on space, non-profits can save more money to use towards their cause.
You recently wrote an article about Amazon’s return-to-office mandate and the risks of this decision not being based on evidence. Can you sum up the risks from your perspective as more organizations make this call?
One of the senior VPs at Amazon admitted they had not seen any data that supported return to office (e.g., productivity data). Yet Amazon is one of the most data-optimized companies in the world, Kaleem reminds us. Why wouldn’t they have data on remote work productivity, engagement, etc.? If they have data on why remote work isn’t working, why wouldn’t they share it? Kaleem hypothesizes this is because of all the real estate assets Amazon has, and ensuring these assets regain their value.
Yet society needs to look beyond conserving office spaces and the way things used to be. For example, converting office buildings to condos is starting to happen. “Maybe, just maybe, we can start seeing more housing available downtown,” Kaleem hopes. Office assets may transform into livable assets.
When it comes to the pursuit of workplace flexibility it seems like an ongoing marathon in some ways, with forces working against it. How do you stay positive and continue the “good fight”?
“People need to hear many stories of remote work success.” Kaleem recently won a remote work storyteller award. His Remotely We Are One podcast includes many stories and humor to highlight the human aspect of remote work. “It’s more than just the job and productivity, it’s about the human being.” Kaleem reminds us how companies are trying to produce more and more globally, but with the pandemic, humans have become the focus again. Now leadership nostalgia is about being “back to the grind.”
“It’s more than just the job and productivity, it’s about the human being.” – Kaleem Clarkson
What does work-life wellness (integration!) mean to you, and how does it play out in your life?
Work-life balance makes it feel like you’re two different people: work and personal, explains Kaleem. Whereas Work-Life Integration is around being “one being.” It’s about optimizing your day, to get the best from your work and life. “You’re one being who makes a choice how to integrate your day in the way you see fit. Balance implies work and life are equal, and they may not always be.”
What do you read and or listen to for your own growth and development?
How I Built This with Guy Raz – A podcast that tells stories of how leaders built their companies
If you could have one wish for a better world, what would it be?
I would want every organization to be a people-first organization.
About Kaleem Clarkson:
Kaleem is a husband, father, remote work advocate, and speaker. He is the Chief Operating Officer of Blend Me, Inc, a fractional people operations consultancy that helps startups and small businesses transform into high-functioning remote or hybrid-remote workplaces by improving the remote employee experience.
He has been featured in Harvard Business Review, CNBC, Fortune Magazine, named to LinkedIn’s Top 10 Voices in Remote Work, listed as one of the top 15 Remote Work Advocates by the All-American Speakers Bureau and named as a 2023 Top Remote Work Influencer by Remote.com. Kaleem has presented at South by Southwest, Transform HR, Make-A-Wish Foundation and has shared the stage alongside leadership from companies such as Google, United Airlines, Facebook, Visa, and HP. Kaleem is passionate about work-life integration and the remote employee experience.
Learn more at Blend Me, Inc.
