The COVID-19 pandemic catalyzed a monumental shift to remote and hybrid work, decoupling jobs from traditional office locations and transforming local economies across Virginia.
But so far, the transformation hasn’t been equal, and we’ve all been distracted by noisy debates about employer return to work mandates and employee resistance. Actually capitalizing on the immense economic potential of this remote work revolution requires a thoughtful alignment of people, place and policy. This begins with detailed analysis of local conditions: Where has flexible work taken root? Which industries drive it? What obstacles limit it? And what might be done to expand it?
A recent Virginia Tech report, developed by graduate students in the economic development studio class that I lead with a fellow faculty member from the Center for Economic and Community Engagement, provides a model for such an approach. Our students analyzed drivers and challenges of remote work, categorized the types of remote workers attracted to different communities, and developed recommendations for different community types from Arlington to Newport News to Abingdon.
The findings reveal striking disparities. Parts of Northern Virginia with high concentrations of tech and professional services jobs, for example, already have up to 25 percent of residents working remotely. As Cardinal News has reported, in some places remote workers now constitute the biggest sector of the workforce. Yet many struggling rural counties — particularly those in Southwest and Southside Virginia — have seen almost no influx of laptop laborers.
Our students identified four broad types of remote workers:
- Urbanists — Younger workers who value urban amenities such as culture, diversity, infrastructure and economic opportunities. Many remain in high-cost cities despite remote work.
- Salary Stretchers — These workers leverage wage and cost-of-living differentials through “geoarbitrage” to maximize their purchasing power. Many transition from renting to home ownership.
- Nature Lovers — They value natural amenities like forests, lakes and mountains. Many relocate from cities to more rural areas.
- Boomerangs — These are remote workers with pre-existing connections to a place, often through friends or family ties. These connections drive relocation.
By understanding these motivations, communities can tailor their marketing, incentives and infrastructure investments to draw specific types of remote workers. Rather than taking a one-size-fits-all strategy, local leaders should focus on realistic goals tailored to leverage the assets of their communities.
Urban counties, for example, might promote their amenities, public spaces and shared work sites to retain skilled workers opting for hybrid schedules.
Small towns, meanwhile, can highlight outdoor recreation offerings and a lower cost of living to attract digitally enabled newcomers seeking better work-life balance.
And suburban bedroom communities can incentivize home-based startups to take advantage of underutilized housing stock.
State programs have an equally vital role in helping communities maximize their opportunities. Expanding rural broadband, for example, remains imperative as the basic infrastructure for 21st century work. While the commonwealth routinely ranks among the nation’s leaders in deploying internet, in many areas, the quality is poor and it is too expensive to be accessible.
Strategic grants and tax credits to fund innovation hubs and co-working spaces — like COgro at the Virginia Tech Corporate Research Center — provide a valuable boost to regions. Expanding access to Wi-Fi in public spaces such as parks or in downtown areas can also provide more locations for remote workers to plug in and increase accessibility of internet services across the area. And marketing campaigns can help spotlight the lifestyle perks that might entice incoming remote workers.
While urban counties are best positioned in the near term, nonurban areas could see revitalization, too. Rural towns with strong recreational amenities can increasingly draw remote workers seeking affordable housing, outdoor lifestyles and the connectedness of small communities. Reimagining struggling main streets as “zoom towns” has the potential to reverse patterns of brain drain in small communities.
Local economic developers need to prioritize attracting remote and hybrid workers — just as they would any other job-creating industry that brings outside dollars into their community. Even though remote employees don’t commute to a local office, in economic terms, their labor represents a locally produced good exported for external income. They’re as powerful an economic generator as any factory or corporate HQ.
Policy choices in the coming years will determine whether flexible work arrangements primarily benefit the affluent suburbs and exurbs of Northern Virginia or ultimately advance more inclusive prosperity. Though the forces driving the cluster of high-tech industry and talent remain powerful, remote and hybrid modes could ultimately enable wider sharing of economic gains.
John Provo is executive director of the Virginia Tech Center for Economic and Community Engagement. A “pracademic” with 25 years of experience in higher education and government, he leads a team of research and engagement professionals building relationships between businesses, communities, agencies and the university and delivering knowledge for projects and initiatives.