In a move that contrasts with the tightening work-from-home policies at major corporations, Bruno Solari, founder and CEO of New York City-based PR firm SolComms, recently authorized a company-wide “Work from Anywhere August.” While SolComms typically mandates four days of in-office presence per week, the three-year-old startup allowed its 53 employees to log on from any location globally for the entire month.
Solari himself joined the experiment, traveling through Spain while managing client calls. He noted that enforcing office requirements while he enjoyed such flexibility would have been hypocritical. Employees similarly utilized the opportunity to travel domestically to locations like the Jersey Shore and the Hamptons, or internationally to cities including Berlin, Prague, London, and various spots in Portugal and Italy.
The initiative was born out of annual employee surveys where staff consistently requested additional remote days. Rather than altering the weekly schedule, Solari and his leadership team, who developed the concept in January, designed a structured one-month trial. Guidelines included adhering to Eastern Standard Time hours from 9 a.m. to 5:30 p.m., keeping cameras on during meetings, and maintaining professional attire. Employees were also instructed to use Slack status updates frequently and avoid handling sensitive calls in public.
Natalie Valicenti, the company’s associate vice president of operations, reported that the agency successfully communicated the plan to its roster of over 80 clients across healthcare, technology, and consumer sectors while she worked from Rhode Island and Minnesota.
The decision ran counter to current trends in the broader labor market. According to research from Flex Index, the proportion of Fortune 500 companies requiring five days in the office doubled between mid-2024 and mid-2025, rising from 13% to 24%. Major firms such as Uber and Disney have recently announced plans to reduce remote workforces and mandate stricter return-to-office schedules.
Despite these industry headwinds, SolComms reported positive outcomes from the experiment. A survey of 21 participating employees indicated that 76% felt more productive and 90% maintained a high work-life balance. Every respondent expressed a desire to repeat the program the following year. Financially, the company saw a modest 4% revenue increase from July to August, followed by a 12% jump from August to September.
Solari acknowledged some challenges, noting that employees sometimes felt an internal pressure to remain constantly available, which can make taking breaks more difficult than in an office setting. However, he emphasized that physical presence is not a prerequisite for high performance. He confirmed that the company is committed to reinstating Work from Anywhere August in 2027.
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