Putting aside the odd out-of-key CEO declaring that working from home is an ‘aberration’ and the column inches dedicated to commercial landlords predicting a ‘100% return’ to office, based on little insight beyond their bottom line, there is little debate that remote working is here to stay. While not all companies will or are able to go fully remote, the genie is out of the bottle when it comes to assuming that productive work and office presenteeism automatically come hand in hand.

The growth of this ‘work from anywhere’ economy brings with it a host of changes, challenges and creative opportunities for brands. One sector which is significantly impacted by this shift is housing. An ecosystem which frees people to work where they choose automatically means that people may become less wedded to city centre living.

According to Microsoft's Work Trend index this is a global shift with almost half (46%) of respondents saying they are planning to move to a new location this year, a reflection of the greater flexibility to work from home and 41% of those surveyed saying they are considering leaving their jobs.

The research, which polled 30,000 people from a variety of companies in 31 countries alongside trillions of data points around labour and productivity from Microsoft's 365 software and LinkedIn network, underlined that the pandemic has ushered in a global ‘inflection point’ in employees' lives.

This inflection point and the freedom it can bring with it is beautifully encapsulated in a new spot for the UK’s biggest property rental portal Rightmove. ‘The Renter’, created by Fold 7, brings to life the possibilities of renting, a campaign which draws on the fundamental truth that remote working has made many rethink the kind of lives they want to live. Lives which have been liberated by freedom from the traditional geographical questions and logistics of the daily commute.

‘The Renter’, which launches on 1^st April, brings to life the story of a woman who lives exactly as she chooses thanks to the freedoms and flexibilities renting gives her. From living by the seaside to being in the city, then moving to the countryside, the renter can try on different lives for size in order to “find what’s right for right now.”

The energetic campaign strikes a tone of optimism and energy and marks a step-change for a mainstream media narrative in which renting automatically equates to a ‘Plan B’.

Ryan Newey, CCO atFold7, explains: “Finding your happy doesn’t only mean falling in love with the home you buy. It can be about falling in love with the lifestyle and possibilities you have as a renter.”

Iain Kennedy, Marketing Director at Rightmove, added: “Through this campaign, we hope to stimulate the market further by encouraging movers to 'explore the life that could be' and get moving.”

A year into the coronavirus crisis the campaign is a welcome reminder of the silver-linings that can come in the midst of a wholesale reappraisal of how we live and work. A celebration of the freedom that comes from trying something, or someplace, new.