Remote work is on the decline in 2025, but these Philadelphia business leaders are sticking with it

"Debra Andrews' marketing firm, Marketri, gets mail and phone calls out of a Market Street address in Center City. But none of her employees work in the Philadelphia area. Neither does she. When she started the business in 2004, having a small office in Doylestown gave the new firm a feeling of "legitimacy," she says. Butshe gave up the space in 2008 when she learned the building would be converted into homes. "I only really at that time had one employee based in Philly and decided, well, let's just do this remote," said Andrews. Now she has 15 employees working across 11 states."

"For Andrews, offeringremote work has allowed her to hire the best person for a role regardless of where they live, but it doesn't mean workers get to set their own hours - they're expected to be on from roughly 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. in their time zones, she says. "We run very much like a normal business, we just happen to work from our homes," said Andrews."

"The National Board of Medical Examiners (NBME), which has been based in Philadelphia for over 100 years and owns a building on Market Street, redesigned its space to have more collaborative areas and fewer offices, as the organization committed to allowing more remote work. It's also leased part of the building. "An empty building is not a problem - it's a challenge to solve. It's not a reason to bring people back," said Janelle Endres, NBME's vice president of human resources."

Marketri maintains a Market Street mailing address while none of its employees, including founder Debra Andrews, work in Philadelphia. The firm began with a small Doylestown office in 2004 and closed it in 2008, transitioning to a remote model that now includes 15 employees across 11 states. Remote work choices allowed hiring without geographic limits while enforcing consistent work hours by time zone. Philadelphia area employers have pushed for more in-office time and office vacancy rates have risen. Some organizations, like NBME, redesigned space for collaboration, leased portions, and embraced increased remote work policies.

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