Milwaukee tech business ditches office space for work-from-anywhere, with pop-up meetings

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MILWAUKEE (CBS 58) -- On Wednesday, Sept. 22, Motus held a pop-up business meeting at Bottle House 42, a brew pub in Milwaukee.

Motus, a tech company headquartered in Boston, has about 100 employees in Milwaukee. The business used to be located on North Water Street, but they've decided to get rid of their office space and use a work-from-anywhere model, while also hosting pop-up meetings throughout the year. 

In March 2020 more people began working from home amid the pandemic, and many still are a year-and-a-half later.

Some local businesses are making the decision not to return to the office. 

"We're not going back to the office ever," said Lori Christiansen with Motus. "So we are a permanent work-from-anywhere company." 

Money they used to spend on their building lease will now go towards hosting pop-up meetings. 

It's probably the second biggest expense on your balance sheet," said Christiansen. "The pandemic really highlighted that where you're paying for these beautiful office spaces and no one is there."

Employees are encouraged to meet up when they can and work from home when they need, and throughout the year they'll host pop-ups for employees to get together. The work day at Bottle House 42 is the second one Motus has held in Milwaukee this year. 

There's breakfast, lunch and happy hour for co-workers to catch up, but the employees had a day filled with in-person meetings too.

Motus provides the Wi-Fi and they made the space feel like the office too.

"I love it because it allows us to get together every so often, but also still have the freedom to work from home, and work anywhere we want-- traveling and enjoying more family time," said Nick Edwards, the company's regional vice president. 

Christiansen says the pop-up business days are part of the the company's culture, and they'll also help support restaurants. Many restaurants used to rely on business from nearby office buildings that are now vacant. 




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