The company had been in the space for the first six months of a 15-year lease when Covid-19 lockdown orders sent everyone home. In July, Dropbox listed nearly 270,000 square feet of the new digs for sublease, which points to another possible reason the virtual first plan appealed to the company’s leadership. Although subleasing some portion of the office space was planned before the pandemic, the company can likely rent out even more space across its offices, if it isn’t paying to house hundreds of individual desks.

However, Collins says costs did not drive Dropbox to adopt this new arrangement. “We made this decision primarily because we believe Virtual First will benefit the company in terms of our mission, product, diversity, and culture,” she told Quartz. Cost was a consideration, she added, but “it was not the primary one.”

🖋 Sign up for The Memo from Quartz at Work

A dispatch from the world of modern work. Learn how you can help create a productive, creative, and compassionate work culture.