Dropbox chief people officer: The hybrid work model is 'the worst of all worlds'

"“The pandemic tested our assumption that we have to be in person in order to be productive,” Dropbox chief people officer Melanie Rosenwasser told The Associated Press."

"“We focus on something that we call the three D's: discuss, debate, or decide,” Rosenwasser said. “If none of those things are on the table, then a meeting is not required.” Most of the decision-making at Dropbox happens asynchronously or over writing, with core collaboration hours providing four-hour blocks for meetings that overlap based on time zone."

"“It's especially important to us to maintain this posture as so many other companies across many, many industries are mandating return to office,” Rosenwasser told the AP. After adopting a remote work policy during the pandemic, Dropbox has remained steadfast to its “virtual-first” model—even as its peers pushed workers back to their desks."

"“We are explicitly not hybrid,” Rosenwasser said. “We think this is the worst of all worlds, where employees suffer through long commutes only to sit on Zoom because most of our colleagues are distributed. We really believed in this creation of an even playing field.” Outside of that, employees coordinate workdays according to their preferences."

Dropbox is keeping a virtual-first remote work posture rather than adopting return-to-office policies. The company says the pandemic challenged assumptions that in-person presence is required for productivity. Dropbox allows about 2,100 employees to work from anywhere globally and emphasizes decision-making through asynchronous communication and writing. It uses four-hour “core collaboration hours” that overlap across time zones for meetings. The company focuses on “discuss, debate, or decide,” and does not schedule meetings when those outcomes are not needed. Dropbox states it is explicitly not hybrid, arguing hybrid creates a poor experience with commutes and limited in-person value. The approach is intended to retain global talent.

Read at Fast Company