Brex makes permanent move to 'remote first' working

Six months after Covid-19 began forcing firms and their staffers to make the switch to working from home, San Francisco-based fintech Brex is embracing the change and becoming a permanent remote-first employer.

In a memo to its 420 staff, Brex co-CEOs Pedro Franceschi and Henrique Dubugras say that "despite significant challenges inside and outside of Brex, many of us would agree that remote work has worked better than we expected," adding that 64% of employees say they enjoy working from home.

However, the memo notes that the hurriedly adopted version of remote working currently employed "doesn't feel ideal for the long-term".

So, the fast-growing firm behind a corporate credit card for startups is setting out a more structured plan to be a remote-first employer.

"People can work from anywhere, and all of our processes, communications, and culture will be designed remote-first, i.e. assuming every employee is remote. We’ll have office hubs in major cities where employees can work from if they want to, but the vast majority of our team won’t be expected to be in an office," writes Franceschi and Dubugras.

This, says Brex, gives it the opportunity to hire a talented, diverse team regardless of geographical boundaries, while offering employees the flexibility to live where they want.

The memo outlines five principles of Brex's remote work strategy: Clone the internet, not the the office; communicate via writing, not speaking; work to cultivate relationships; ensure physical and mental wellbeing; and iterate on remote.

Brex says employees can relocate now, although they are being asked to stay within four hours of Pacific Standard Time. Pay will be determined by geographic market but the company says it will not adjust compensation for current staffers until September 2024.

Says the memo: "I’m very excited about the possibilities ahead of us. Being able to capture all the talent distributed across the world, while making our way of working better than ever, will have a tremendous impact on Brex.

"Getting there will require thoughtful experimentation, some risk taking, and a fair amount of patience as we evolve our way of working to become great remotely. We should embrace this journey, and try to not be too hard on ourselves while we figure it out. :)"