Remote first, remote friendly, and hybrid
Three labels with real differences, and how to tell which one you are being sold.
These words are used interchangeably in postings and mean quite different things in practice. The difference determines whether you will be a full participant or a guest.
Remote first
The default is distributed. If one person is remote, the meeting is remote for everyone. Documentation is the primary channel. There may be no office at all, or an office nobody is expected to use.
Remote friendly
There is a headquarters and a culture centred on it, and remote people are accommodated. This works well or badly depending entirely on how senior the remote people are. If the leadership team is all in one building, decisions will happen in that building.
Hybrid
Attendance is expected some days a week. This is not a remote job and should not be read as one, however the posting is titled. If you are applying from another country, hybrid is a no.
How to tell which you are looking at
- Where is the leadership team? If they are all in one place, it is remote friendly at best.
- Are there core hours, and in whose timezone?
- How often would I be expected to travel, and who pays?
- What proportion of the team is remote today? A number under a fifth is a warning.
Why it matters beyond comfort
Promotion tends to follow visibility. In a remote friendly company, the remote people are less visible, and over a few years that shows up in who gets promoted. Ask how many of the last promotions went to remote staff.
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