As startups navigate the post-pandemic tension between flexible work and in-person collaboration, Rilla CEO Sebastian Jimenez has taken an unconventional approach: pay employees to move closer to the office.
The New York-based founder of Rilla, a voice analytics startup helping field sales teams optimize performance, offers his team up to $1,500 a month to live within commuting distance of their Brooklyn headquarters. But there’s a twist. To qualify for the benefit, employees must agree to show up in person at least three times a week.
A Housing Stipend With Strings Attached
This move, while generous on the surface, is part of a growing push among venture-backed startups to rebuild in-person culture without explicitly mandating it. As mentioned by Millionaire MNL, companies like Rilla are trying to balance flexibility with the undeniable benefits of in-office creativity, speed, and cohesion.
“We saw a direct impact on productivity and morale when people started showing up more,” Jimenez said in an interview. “So we figured, instead of enforcing rules, let’s incentivize lifestyle alignment.”
It’s a notable countertrend to the dominant Gen Z workforce sentiment favoring remote-first models. By reframing proximity as a perk rather than a policy, Rilla is betting that employees will opt into community and collaboration willingly, if the math makes sense.
Remote Tension Reimagined
In the current climate, where tech giants like Google and Amazon are facing employee pushback over return-to-office mandates, Rilla’s approach feels both innovative and provocative.
Critics say the stipend may privilege those without family obligations or who are early in their careers, those most mobile and willing to uproot. Supporters argue it’s a smart compromise that preserves autonomy while encouraging proximity.
So far, Rilla reports strong uptake. More than half of its employees have taken the offer, leading to a surge in foot traffic at HQ and a noticeable increase in informal brainstorming, mentor moments, and faster iteration cycles.
A Trend or an Outlier?
The startup world will be watching closely. If Rilla’s bet works, higher retention, faster product cycles, and improved culture, it may inspire a new wave of “proximity perks” in startup compensation packages.
As Millionaire MNL highlights, this could mark a turning point in how companies encourage in-person collaboration without triggering the backlash of top-down mandates.
In an era when office attendance often comes with friction, paying employees to come in could be the simplest solution.
