Issue #1: We’re all in this together
Welcome to the Remotely Useful Newsletter!
Like many of you, I was thrust into full-time remote work with the pandemic. I had worked remotely in a past job, and had extensive experience working with distributed teams, but transforming an organization to remote-first overnight was a completely new and fascinating experience.
In the latter half of last year, I also co-founded White Elephant Online - a website that lets you play the popular gift-swap game online. The first year was very successful, with over 150,000 users playing with friends, family and co-workers. Suddenly I found myself in the ‘remote work’ business, providing a product and support for remote teams across the country (and globe).
As I’ve learned more about this world - as an employee, a manager and a founder - I wanted to channel my passion for it into something we could all benefit from. Remotely Useful was born, and here we are!
Why I started this newsletter:
Remote work is a super fascinating space. Millions of people were thrown into remote work in 2020, and while many companies are now figuring out how to get back to the office, the trend towards remote & hybrid work is clearly here to stay. What a great time to read, learn and write about a trend that will impact the lives of millions across the globe!
There seems to be a dearth of great, centralized discussion about the remote work experience. There are websites, communities, and groups out there, don’t get me wrong. Some of them are great, and I’m sure there’s many more I haven’t discovered. But so many forums and sites ultimately devolve into a glorified job board. I want to create a space where we can explore the many sides of remote work besides the job search. What works, what doesn’t and why? How can we build a future where people and companies see eye-to-eye about the benefits of remote work? Who is out there approaching things in a creative way we can learn from?
I want to connect and learn from all of you out there, and ultimately bring those learnings back to you. I think together we can build a better remote-work future.
I hope this becomes a conversation, and that YOU contribute to it. Don’t hesitate to reach out with suggestions, feedback, stories, ideas and more.
Cheers,
Dave
In the News
Plans to return to the office continue to evolve, with big organizations like Amazon and Facebook delaying until 2022, and a recent survey showing 36% of workers still awaiting a plan from their employer. Meanwhile, The New York Times reports that these larger organizations may be in the minority, with over half of workers already back in the office.
Everyone’s talking about this WSJ article: These People Who Work From Home Have a Secret: They Have Two Jobs (Paywall). Remote-wary executives will be quick to point to this as the risk with remote work, but while it’s an interesting story, you have to imagine this is extremely rare. It also begs the question: if an employee is performing up to snuff, who cares what else they’re doing with their time? And if they’re not performing, then you should have a way to identify and rectify that beyond ‘they should be in the office all the time’.
Ed Zitron, a regular writer on the future of remote work (and the related culture wars), distills his perspective into a compelling piece in The Atlantic: Why Managers Fear a Remote-Work Future
Tips for Working from Home
Use mealtime to your advantage. Everyone is different: maybe lunch time is a much-needed break from your work. If so, then taking time to make a sandwich and take your mind off things may be the perfect way to refresh yourself for the afternoon. However, if you find that you're regularly being sidetracked by the need to get up and make food (or worse: eating a granola bar because that's all you had time to grab between meetings) try preparing meals the night before. Not sure where to start? Try out these great 'big batch lunch' recipes.
Tips for Managing Remote Teams
Reconsider your video policies. While the value of seeing people's faces while working remotely is well documented, and can be an important part of maintaining a human connection to your colleagues, it can also be fatiguing for everyone involved. If you're a 'cameras on' culture, consider picking one meeting a week where everyone can have their camera off. This is also a great way to to encourage 'walking' meetings. If you're a 'cameras off/not mandatory' culture, try the opposite: pick one meeting a week where cameras are required (maybe your Team meeting) to help create that team bond.
...and one more thing
To celebrate the Digital Nomad lifestyle of working from anywhere, we want to feature a photo or two each week of someone enjoying their freedom and flexibility! This week's entry comes from my own photo roll, when my wife & I spent time in our Van on an Alpaca farm. To submit your photos with a brief story, shoot us a note here!
