Famed tech icon Marc Andreessen has once again weighed in on the shift to remote work, underscoring the major cultural and societal shift it represents.
Companies and executives are grappling with changes to the workforce as a result of the pandemic. Many companies have embraced remote and hybrid work, while others are determined to return to the old ways. Count Andreessen — co-creator of the original Netscape and current VC — as a major supporter of the change to remote work, with the tech pioneer heaping praise on the possible benefits.
“For thousands of years, if you were a sharp, ambitious young person — and this is true of the Medici, and it’s true with the Greeks — you had to go to the city to basically get opportunity,” Andreessen said in a podcast with Tylor Cowen, via Business Insider.
Talking about how the shift to remote work turns that paradigm on its head, Andreessen emphasized just how big a shift it could be.
“It’s potentially an earthquake,” Andreessen told Cowen. “It’s potentially one of those things that in a hundred years, people could look back and say, ‘That was a real turning point for how society developed.’”
Andreessen clearly believes remote work could potentially be a major benefit to workers and the workplace at large, saying, “if everybody could still have access to great knowledge-work jobs online, maybe that’s a fundamentally better way to live.”
Andreessen’s take on remote work stands in stark contrast to some other tech moguls, such as Elon Musk. His view is also far more progressive than some of the biggest names in the industry, including Apple and Google.
Only time will tell if Andreessen is right. However, given his long history in the tech industry, it may be unwise to bet against him.
