COVID-19 has fundamentally changed the way we work, both at Sonder and around the world. Over the last year and a half, we’ve welcomed countless travelers who have opted to stay with us for weeks on end as they have worked and lived remotely. Many of our ~1200 employees around the world have done the same, including our CEO.
We’ve learned a lot about the way people work and connect with each other, and have witnessed people overwhelmingly embrace the freedom and agility this time has offered them. We’ve seen teams that are spread across the globe continue to work effectively while remote, and still deliver amazing results while maintaining a unique team culture and sense of camaraderie. No one size fits all, and many employees appreciate the choice of working from home.
We believe we’ve been given a golden opportunity and strong tailwinds to redefine how our company approaches employees in the workplace. Based on these learnings and feedback from our employees, we’re implementing a strategic model that offers a choice-first approach and reimagines the way our in-office teams will work. Employees who can effectively do their roles remotely and who prefer to work outside of an office can do so, with the choice to be fully remote or work from Sonder offices as desired, without a set required number of days in the office.
Sonder will provide support, resources, communication, development programming, and engagement opportunities to build and sustain a culture that establishes choice for all employees whose roles are able to be done remotely. To share a few examples, this includes a revamp of our onboarding process to optimize for an increasingly global workforce, a dedicated training program to ensure our teams have the support and resources they need to engage remotely and more in-person opportunities to connect through regular culture events. Because we have such a collaborative global workforce, it also means we’re asking everyone to commit to hours of collaboration based on location to balance our new approach with the needs of the business. It’s important that we stay connected, but it’s equally important that every employee has the ability to set boundaries and maintain a healthy work-life balance. And of course, we provide stipends for things like home-office set-ups and the internet, and for mobile device usage for our frontline teams.
As a company that has witnessed the increase of digital nomads and bleisure travelers firsthand, supported by findings from our recent survey with Ipsos, we continue to encourage our teams to get on the road and travel for both work and leisure trips — using their annual Sonder credits, free last minute stay offering and discounts for family and friends.
Choice plus balance and support all contribute to Sonder’s Better Way to Work. We want our employees to have this freedom and choice because we believe it is what is best for them and their families, and in return we know they will be even more invested in Sonder and our collective future. We value output, productivity, and results over sitting in a physical office, and put happiness and well-being over outdated ways of working. We welcome a choice-first future for both our employees and travelers around the world.
Inspiring, thought-provoking work meets modern, people-first leadership. Welcome to the future of work. Come join us.
