Drew Houston, Dropbox Co-Founder and CEO.
- Dropbox made the move to virtual-first work early in the pandemic.
- Employee surveys show the vast majority of workers are in favor of the shift and productivity is not an issue.
- The technology firm has even been able to recruit former workers back from competitors at a rate far higher than it expected.
For all the corporate leaders out there who are pushing as far as the labor market will let them to hit the reset button on 2019 office life, Dropbox co-founder and CEO Drew Houston has a message: take yourself into the future instead.
Work has changed forever, Houston said at the recent CNBC Work Summit. He shared some of the top lessons his technology company learned from its move to virtual-first work early in the pandemic.
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One outcome that did not surprise Houston: "Flexibility .... we knew, once people have it, they wouldn't want to give it back."
That led Dropbox on a journey to find a way to bridge the best of the remote world — no commute, ability to live anywhere — with the in-person experiences that have no substitute.
"There was an opportunity to really redesign the nature of work and rethink it to get the best of both," he said.
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And its bet on virtual-first work has paid off in the labor market in ways that have surprised the tech CEO. Dropbox has been able to lure back many employees who had left the firm in recent years as a result of the flexibility it is now offering. And Houston says the bet will continue to pay off into the future. Firms that offer work flexibility will out-recruit, out-retain and outperform competitors mandating a return to office.
"We've been able to punch way above our weight class," Houston said.
Videos of all CNBC Work Summit panels and interviews will be available exclusively on demand through Friday, November 11. Learn more and get access now.
