All posts by : Nicole Horton

One of the main reasons employees enjoy working from home is control; control over their schedules, their focus, and their postures. When working from home, no one cares if you kick your feet up on the couch or get cozy under a big blanket. You can take any range of postures in any number of rooms to find how you work best.

However, in the office, few employees have that level of control. They are restrained to one workspace, sometimes in one posture, visible to everyone. Building an alluring office should be a key part of your return to work strategy.

How Do Create An Alluring Office By Giving Employees Individual Control?

The discussion around returning to the office often focuses on work life balance, but there is more. Offering individual control is critical when luring remote workers back to the office. Places where people can find privacy, will be among the most coveted spaces in an office. According to Steelcase research, three of the top four elements people value now relate to private spaces.

It makes sense! After months or years spent in the privacy of the home, it is no wonder that employees now look for private and often quiet spaces in an office. Those spaces need to be available, whether someone needs to make a personal phone call or hide away for a few hours to focus. So, creating nooks, visual separation, and other focus rooms is more important than ever to draw back employees.

How Do I Create A Less Distracting Office?

Distractions at home are different than distractions in the office. For starters, home distractions can be anticipated and even scheduled. Children leave and return at specific times, and chores like laundry can be flexible.

In the office, you can’t predict who might walk by, stop to ask a question, or otherwise throw you off your groove. So, removing as many distractions as possible when trying to entice employees to come back is critical. Many of these distractions are audible, so better acoustical solutions, privacy walls, or sound masking systems can help manage sound.

Other distractions at work come from too-open sightlines. When an office is completely open, employees can often become distracted by coworkers. When employees must have heads-down time, adding movable screens or creating quiet nooks are great privacy solutions.

How To I Design a Biophilic Office Environment?

An excellent feature of working from a home office is quick and easy access to natural light and plant life. Scientifically we know that humans are positively impacted by natural light and plants, so the more we interact with them, the better. However, many offices can not offer exposure to natural light or an outdoor patio.

If your office has artificial lighting, it would be wise to invest in lighting that will mimic a circadian rhythm (the body’s internal clock). This translates to blue light in the morning, white light in the afternoon, and red light in the evening. And if you lack views of the outdoors, biophilic office design can come in handy.

The biophilia hypothesis states that humans have an innate tendency to seek connections with nature and other life forms. If this is true, filling your office with plant life is a great way to improve oxygen levels and create a welcoming and relaxing environment. Incorporating biophilia can have healthful benefits and be as easy as using natural materials in your office, pictures of nature, leaf prints, or potted plants.

Organizations seeking to create a more alluring office to entice their employees back to the office would do well to 1. Give employees individual control over their workspace. 2. Remove distractions. 3. Bring light and plant life into the space.

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Outgrowing your house is painful. There comes a point when the space you once thought you could never fill becomes cramped and uncomfortable. Many families have felt this throughout time. The twist is that SRA is not a typical growing family but a business that has outgrown the converted house it has been inhabiting.

SRA provides a mix between finance and insurance. Like how individuals set aside money in a tax-deferred 401k account for retirement, SRA utilizes a tax code called 831b that helps businesses set aside tax-deferred money for risks that fall outside traditional insurance. In essence, they help
companies to save money for a rainy day.

SRA Creates A New Meaning For Working From Home

Two years ago, SRA moved from its downtown Boise office to the heart of downtown Meridian. They were a small team needing a larger space and liked the idea of converting a house into a place for their business. What used to be the entry became a waiting room, there was an old fireplace in the conference room, and the bedrooms were converted into private and shared offices. The team could enjoy a beautiful patio with a pavilion in the backyard when the weather was nice.

A Phased Move

Unfortunately, like any growing family, it did not take long for SRA to outgrow their adorable and historic little house. With rooms filling up and more staff set to join the team, it was time to move. It took a while to find the right fit, but they finally settled on two adjacent suites in Eagle, providing them with five thousand square feet.

The next step was getting the space ready. “We were like fire drill trying to figure out who we were going to use, and with supply chain issues, we needed to decide quickly,” says Marketing Manager/Project Coordinator Bre Cohen. “The OEC team was so responsive and scheduled a meeting right away. We told them our deadlines (which were rushed), so we broke the project into two phases addressing the top priorities first. OEC immediately saw our vision; even the first drafts blew us away.”

Settling Into Their New Home

The new office is entirely different from the little house SRA is leaving behind. Light wood floors lead down a brightly lit corridor framed by a wall of glass-encased private offices. On the other side are more offices broken up by what the team calls “The Space,” a large collaborative space with a sleek
leather couch, armchair, television, and work table. Directly behind “The Space” and separated by floor-to-ceiling glass is a dazzling conference room with a modern and moody chandelier and oval conference table.

While SRA continues to function like a family, they are no longer working on top of each other. Instead, they have leg room. With room to breathe and expand, SRA is ready to do what they do best; help businesses protect themselves against risk.

Watch the video story here.

See the full photo album here.

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Covid changed the workplace forever as employees adopted work from home. Now employers want their teams back in the office. Can they compromise? In this issue, employers make their case for the office.

Sometimes the best way to move forward is with an honest conversation. Back once more to share onsemi’s return-to-work compromise is Test

Development Engineer Dave Stout. In our last edition, Dave shared how he has successfully managed remote teams from home. In this edition, he shares how empowering managers is an essential step to bringing remote teams back to the office.

Localized Control: Empowering Managers

Imagine being a leader with offices around the world implementing a return-to-work policy. Not only is it complicated, but also impossible for any one person or even team to manage. Yet, this is where onsemi’s leaders were a few months ago—trying to bring back hundreds of employees to offices all around the world who were comfortable at home. While they are still transitioning, the key to their

success has been leaning on their management teams. “There is no replacement for face-to-face interaction, and I think that is important to the executive team. At the same time, they recognize how difficult it is to go straight back to the office after working remotely for two years. So, they decided it was in everyone’s best interest to have employees work directly with their managers (at least in the U.S.) to determine what works best for their teams.” This way, managers can advocate for what is best for their team.

Connect With Employees

With control in the hands of the individual office and manager, each team can function at its best. For Dave, that means he can have honest conversations with staff about their productivity. “With Covid, you found out quickly who couldn’t efficiently work from home. I had to sit down with some of my team

members to solve those problems. I think it is crucial to make it an “us” issue rather than a “them” issue. One of my employees has terrible internet at home, so he needed to be in the office for better internet. Another lives in a small home with kids, so it is distracting. Having those conversations and understanding the root of the issue helps us have an open dialog and solve the issue. If I were to say, ‘You’re not getting anything done; therefore, you must work in the office,’ that wouldn’t go over well. Instead, we can reach a conclusion together with it being their idea. Then the employee is more open to the differences between their situation and someone else’s.

By bringing human connection into the equation, onsemi is on its way to a successful return-to-work compromise.

Read Dave’s previous article here.

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Covid changed the workplace forever as employees adopted work from home. Now employers want their teams back in the office. Can they compromise? In this issue, employers make their case for the office.

     By now, almost everyone has heard the ultimatum that Elon Musk gave Tesla employees around working from home. In short, the message was, get back in the office or get out of Tesla. This move has inspired some companies while others choose to navigate things differently. To weigh in on the return-to-work compromise from a management point of view, we invited David Berry back to share his perspective.

     In our last edition, Senior Project Manager, David Berry shared his experience working from home and some of the great ways it has helped him prevent burnout and prioritize his family. In this edition, David shares three reasons why the office still plays a vital role in the success of a business and its employees.

Realigning Employee Expectations

     POWER Engineers recognizes that things have changed over the last two years, and they must take time to realign expectations. “A challenge companies are facing is that if you told someone two years ago that they could work from home two days a week, they would have jumped at it. Now bringing people back to the office is like pulling teeth.” To help realign employee expectations, they are breaking down requirements by job role. For example, it makes sense from an accountability standpoint to have production staff in the office. Meanwhile, an engineer can be hybrid. Depending on the job role, industry, and a person’s social skills, some individuals need to be in the office.

Socialization & Personal Interactions

     Regarding productivity, David recognizes that while employees have been more productive, they lack socialization. “When you’re in the office, you might have banter that lowers your efficiency but improves your network, socialization, and maybe your self-actualization. That is a key benefit of having the office. It is great being in the office to see staff, but you also collaborate more. You also talk about what it means to be an employee in a company, and those personal interactions are so important for personal growth.”

Promoting From Within

     Perhaps the most valuable part of being in the office is growth. POWER tries to promote leadership within the company. “A lot of those decisions are based on direct interaction with employees. It is difficult to determine growth on phone interviews or email responses. A lot is based on the knowledge and expectation of how someone will interact and their leadership skills. I think it will affect their growth trajectory if people don’t go into the office to meet with key staff. In that regard, the office will always be an integral part of any company.”

Whether it is for accountability, socializing, or personal growth, the office still plays a vital role in an employee’s success.

Read David’s previous article here.

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Erin Warwick is a finance director at TELEO Capital in Boise, but recently she has been wearing many other hats. One of those hats includes bringing the new TELEO headquarters online.

TELEO Founding

TELEO Capital is a lower middle market private equity firm. They are targeting opportunities in the technology & software, healthcare IT, business services, and industrial sectors. Private equity firms like TELEO Capital are the go-betweens connecting investors to private companies looking for capital or helping investors buy into private companies to diversify their portfolios. Three coworders founded TELEO in 2018 by three coworkers who decided it was time to build something themselves. George Kase and Andy Martines specialized in deal sourcing, while Robb Warwick complemented their skills with his operational experience. Together they formed a strong team that would eventually lead to a company with two offices. One is in Los Angeles, California, and now, a beautiful headquarters is in Boise, Idaho.

TELEO Building Its Space To Support Its Culture

Over the last few months, it has been Erin’s job to bring the owners’ vision to fruition. With 27 employees split between two offices, creating and maintaining a strong culture has been top of mind. “We have a culture of integrity, honesty, hard work, and fun. The founders want to create a place where our team can work hard and go home to be fully present with their families. They know the importance of balance and believe that if you take care of yourself, the quality of your work improves.” To help both teams benefit from this culture, the new office in the 11th & Idaho building has many open workspaces to accommodate the LA team when they come to town. This encourages camaraderie between the offices and helps them feel connected although geographically apart.

“We have a culture of integrity, honesty, hard work, and fun. The founders want to
create a place where our team can work hard and go home to be fully present with their families. They know the importance of balance and believe that if you take care of yourself, the quality of your work improves.”

Erin Warwick | Finance Director

Designing Their Space For The Future

OEC designed the extra room to support the future of the company. “Robb calls [this office] the ‘Center of Excellence.’ He dreams of bringing acquired companies into this space to get them on their feet and share in our culture. Then, once they grow enough, they can start looking for an office space of their own.” By using their space as a “launching pad,” TELEO will be able to intentionally grow their business by bringing more portfolio companies into their office. The new office encompasses three-quarters of the floor. It is filled with workstations, private offices, a kitchen, and Erin’s favorite, a giant OEC conference room with a view of the foothills.

Now enjoying its new headquarters, the TELEO team has its sites set on the future. A future guided by the principles of its name. When it came time to pick a name for their new company, the founders took a while. The Greek route word “teleology,” coined by Aristotle. It has the same meaning as the famous Arabic phrase “It is finished,” as pronounced by Christ on the cross. This idea of completing, performing, and accomplishing resonated deeply with the founders and is what guided them then and what will guide TELEO Capital into the future.

See the full photo album today!

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Movement is important in nearly every aspect of your life. Regarding your work life, movement is key to having a healthy, productive, and pain-free work experience. Here are three ways I like to incorporate
movement into my work routine to add variety and give my body a break from sitting in the same position.

Change postures.

This is where furniture can really help. In my situation, I have a height adjustable desk. I move it in four different positions during the day. Regular ergonomic sitting position, standing, perching at my chair armrest, and down low so I can put my feet up. Also, my task chair is ergonomic and has some natural flex and bounce, which helps.

Get up and walk around the office.

Every couple of hours or so, I’ll take an intentional break and go to see somebody different in the office. Sometimes just a quick catch-up at their desk, or I’ll even jump in the car and do a short gas station or coffee run. This week I was feeling a bit antsy and even did a walk around the block. It was pretty hot, so just one loop sufficed.

Change the work location.

I like to work in different areas. Right now, I am sitting upstairs on a soft sofa with my feet up. Not only does this give my body a rest from the typical ergonomic office chair, but it places me in a different physical environment which helps change my mood and clear my mind.

Drop me a line sometime and let me know how you incorporate movement in your work experience.

Keep moving.

Scott Galloway

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A workplace worth the commute

Despite employers’ best efforts to entice everyone back to the office, people are dragging their feet. Their reluctance isn’t about COVID. If you look at the data, far more people have been to a restaurant, movie theater or traveled on an airplane than who’ve gone to the office, according to the Kastle Back to Work Barometer. People’s resistance doesn’t seem to be about flexible work either. Hybrid work has been embraced by 71% of global leaders. They are giving people the option to work two-to-three days from home or other locations.

Hesitancy to return theories range from the dread of wearing work clothes to long commutes. But maybe the most obvious reason is being overlooked. Do people believe anything has really changed if everything looks the same?

In offices around the world, organizations have adopted hybrid work policies. However, they haven’t changed their offices to support the new realities of hybrid work. Some say they’re waiting until employees are back in the office to make changes. But hybrid work means people will come and go at different times. Without changes, the office is often likely to feel empty and lack energy. After two years of isolation, who wants that? Hybrid work also means people will spend a lot more time on video calls. So, they will look for more privacy to meet with remote teammates. Or worse, they’ll do video meetings in the open and become the hybrid version of the office loud talker.

Hybrid work policies will work better if an organization’s space changes in tandem.

The new era of hybrid work means people will have choices about where to work and, in many ways, the office has to work even harder to attract people and keep them coming back. Offices will need to earn people’s commute by meeting a new set of needs: support hybrid work, establish connections, create a sense of belonging and promote wellbeing — all of which suffered during the pandemic.

A NEW INSPIRATION

This requires a shakeup in thinking about the future of the office. The workplace should draw inspiration from a new source — the vibrant communities in which we live. Jane Jacobs, author of “The Death and Life of Great American Cities,” argued decades ago people need diverse neighborhoods to thrive. Places where homes, bustling sidewalks, shops, parks and public spaces come together and “exist in extraordinary variety.”

WHY A HYBRID NEIGHBORHOOD?

A hybrid neighborhood exudes vitality and energy — nothing is static — places and activities adapt and change. The neighborhood is where people form relationships, feel a sense of belonging and build trust.

Today, organizational psychologist and author Adam Grant agrees. “A better vision for a workplace is a community — a place where people bond around shared values, feel valued as human beings, and have a voice in decisions that affect them,” says Grant. The best neighborhoods are ones that foster inclusion and exude personality, where ideas are born and trends are launched.

This is what people at work need more than ever before.

BUILDING A HYBRID NEIGHBORHOOD AT WORK

Organizations can create diverse neighborhoods in their workplace as a tangible way to communicate their values and shift their culture. The workplace can create the same energy and connection people feel in a cafe or in the privacy of their own home.

Neighborhoods at work, like the ones people live in, are a homebase for people and teams, departments or project teams. They include a variety of interconnected spaces that support different types of work, a mixture of uses and the natural flow. They include:

• Individual spaces assigned to one person or shared amongst the team
• Collaboration spaces for in-person and virtual interactions that support the different ways people need to come together
• Places with appropriate privacy for individual heads down work or finding solitude and rejuvenation
• Areas to gather, socialize and learn with teammates

Neighborhoods become a destination. People feel comfortable and confident they can find their teammates and the tools they need to do their work.

For a neighborhood to truly work for people it has to be based on a fundamentally new employee experience.

A Framework for Employee Experiences

• Equity: Create a more equitable and inclusive experience for all participants. Set a design goal to eliminate the gap between co-located​ and remote employees.
• Engagement: Design settings for a range of experiences that help people participate fully, focus deeply and stay in flow longer.
• Ease: Design a variety of​ intuitive virtual and physical experiences ​that are easy to navigate and control​.

4 KEY DESIGN PRINCIPLES

Every neighborhood has its own distinctive character — four key design principles guide their creation.

Me + We

Just as city neighborhoods have homes and shared spaces, the new neighborhood at work supports both individual and team work​. The amount of space for each will vary, but they support people doing different types of work throughout the day. They help people make quick shifts and give people more options and autonomy over their day.

Fixed-to-Fluid

Great neighborhoods evolve when new people move in or a new store opens. At work, change is constant, sometimes in small ways as teams need to grow, or collaborate. A hybrid neighborhood is modular and flexible — embracing change instead of resisting it.

Open + Enclosed

Privacy in the office has become even more important during the pandemic. People struggled with open office plans, after working from home, and are sensitive to their privacy. Great neighborhoods blend private and public spaces, making the neighborhood diverse and dynamic.

Braiding Digital + Physical

Urban planners are creating smart cities and hybrid office neighborhoods need to do the same. Video meetings are a new norm in the office and everyone needs to interact equally. The technology needs to be easy to use, but also the right space and size.

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   When Magic Valley Electric (MVE) decided to build their first office in Eastern Idaho, they wanted something special. It had to be a place that reflected their values and was also an exciting place to work. Owner and President Billy Salts started the company in 2013 because he wanted to create something different in the trade. The company has two wings. Magic Valley Electric offers electrical for new construction, including agriculture, industrial, commercial, express, automation, and solar, while Magic Services (established in 2019) provides electrical, plumbing, and HVAC for the residential market. The expansive offering is not the only thing that sets the company apart. According to Salts, “We have an amazing team, and that comes from our core values. We hire and fire off our core values: attitude, character, integrity, vision, and determination. They are our true north.”

“We have an amazing team, and that comes from our core values. We hire and fire off our core values: attitude, character, integrity, vision, and determination. They are our true north.”

Billy Salts

Building Something Different

     Salts started in the trade after graduating from high school with no intention of starting a business later. However, after loving the work and moving up in some great companies, he wanted to create something special in the trade. “None of us knew what culture was back then, and the construction industry has always been a little behind the times regarding treating and valuing people. I wanted to be transparent with my team and empower them to be leaders in the company. I wanted to see people succeed and one day take my position. My vision was to build something different; something focused on our team.”

Bright Colors & Open Sightlines

Thanks to their values and excellent team, Magic has just moved into its new location in Boise. When you walk into the building, it looks very different than other electrical contractors. With bright colors, clean furnishings, and open sightlines, it creates an energetic atmosphere that makes it an amazing place to work. It is the same way for all the offices. With such a unique space, no one would know how close Magic came to looking like everyone else.

Environment Affects Culture

In 2018, just before finalizing design plans for Magic Services’ building in Jerome, Salts visited DMA, a lighting vendor in Boise. He had an office design that he didn’t love but was ready to move forward with when a chance encounter changed things. While walking through DMA, he noticed how great their desks looked. The owner quickly shared that the Steelcase desks had come from OEC down the road. Salts stopped by the OEC showroom to investigate and was blown away. “I remember taking a ton of pictures. We were about to move forward with an expensive build that, while special to us, wasn’t going to be different. After leaving OEC, we stopped everything and redesigned our entire office. Our culture is so important, and our environment makes it so much better.”

Culture In Action at Magic Valley Electric

The strong culture at Magic and MVE has enabled them to accomplish a massive project recently when they landed a solar project for Circle D Farms. By pulling together their whole team, 215 solar trackers were installed on 43 different sites in the Minidoka and Murtaugh counties. The entire project was done in-house, including six miles of trenching, thirteen-hundred yards of concrete, and a very tight deadline. “It took every one of us from our admin team to everybody in the field to make it happen, and we finished within two days of the deadline. It challenged us to dig deep, and that is when our culture really showed up. Our people were smiling and running and gunning and when we finished, it was a celebration. So many of us grew from it, and now we know we can take on even more.”

With teamwork as the focus and a great new office to support its new Boise team, the Team at Magic and MVE is excited to see what the future has in store.

See the full album today!

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Dave was sent home on Friday the 13th. In true spooky fashion he got back from lunch having no idea what was going on as his coworkers walked past him, carrying laptops and monitors. His entire office was being sent to work from home with no specifications on what equipment they could take or how long they would be gone. Some individuals brought home task chairs, while others who rode their bikes had to beg for a ride home with their gear. It was a little unnerving and understandably so. Now, Dave would be managing remotely for the next two years.

When Managing Remotely, Make Information Accessible     

Unlike many who were sent home, Dave was partially prepared for remote work. As the manager of test engineering for onsemi’s industrial and commercial sensor division, Dave is used to managing teams in Meridian, Taiwan, and Bangalore, India. “Managing remotely is not a new thing for me, but I definitely think working from home is new for the individual contributors.” Dave started managing a local team before taking on his remote groups, so he had to learn a different management style. This semi-prepared him to help foster the development and the transition of other people from working

strictly in the office to working out. “In a way, it was perfect preparation for when we all came home for COVID. It allowed me to use similar methodologies for my local team. In the beginning, I spent a lot of time showing employees how to find information on what they were doing in different systems. Before, they could ask someone down the row from them. Now, it is more efficient for them to check our system.”

Eliminate Distractions

     However, managing remotely is different than working remotely yourself. “I have a wife and three kids (two kids at the time) and a dog. The kids didn’t have school and figured that since I was home, I could play. So, it was not just an adjustment for me but for my kids and my wife, who already worked from home full time. We had to figure out how to coexist during working hours while two kids were doing school online, and my wife and I had constant conference calls.”

Once everything settled down, Dave discovered that he got more done at home than at work. “I love working from home. My kids know not to bother me, whereas when I am working at the office, someone will come to talk to me, and I’ll get distracted. I feel like I’m a lot more efficient at home because I can eliminate the distractions of the workplace.”

“When there are issues, we will have daily meetings for a few minutes. I can ask if there are any problems I can help with and be done in five minutes compared to an entire hour. “

Dave Stout

Do Five Minute Remote Check-Ins

     Unfortunately, working from home does not work for everyone. Some of Dave’s team needs to be in the office to be most productive, while others split their time. With this new flexibility, Dave has implemented some procedures he does with his overseas teams. “When there are issues, we will have daily meetings for a few minutes. I can ask if there are any problems I can help with and be done in five minutes compared to an entire hour. It is a way we can stay in tune with each other as if we were talking over the cube wall.” 

“Working from home allows me to be more creative, energized, focused, and intentional at work and with my family.”

Dave Stout

Use Your Flexible Schedule To Be With Your Family

     Maintaining a good work/life balance is hard in the tech industry because it is cutthroat and busy. It can often look like eight-to-ten-hour days in the office with additional work at home. For Dave, working from home helped relieve the stress and find balance. “With my first two kids, I didn’t spend nearly as much time with them as I could with my third child when she was born. When the first two kids were born, I took three or four weeks off, and then it was back to work. There was a lot of growth in the first two years of their life that I wasn’t there for. “

“At home, I can walk into the kitchen, and there’s my 18-month-old running around and running up to me. I get to spend more time seeing her develop and participating in her development. My other kids come home from school now, and I can spend time with them. Then I get back to work after they go to bed and catch India as they are coming online. Working from home allows me to be more creative, energized, focused, and intentional at work and with my family.”

Solve Problems In -Person

     As great as it is to work from home, there are times when Dave chooses to go into the office. Typically, it has to do with solving problems. “When we are jotting down ideas to solve problems, it is important to have someone’s full attention and brainpower. People don’t have their cameras on working from home, so I don’t know if they are actually paying attention. A lot of times, they are multitasking. So, when I need someone’s full attention, I’ll ask for us to sit around a table and hash it out, which gets better results. The other thing is the personal relationship with employees. Having face-to-face contact is important for developing relationships. It is easy to turn off a computer screen at home and not form relationships, so improving my relationship with my team will always pull me back into the office.”

*Dave will be featured in our next edition discussing how onsemi is handling the work from home compromise.

Read Part 1 and Part 2 of the Great Workplace Compromise now!

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Before Covid, Brendan was living and working full-time in San Francisco. He had an apartment in Presidio Heights and took the bus into work every day. Now, he works remotely and splits his time between the Bay Area and Boise as a digital nomad. As a Product Manager at Autolist for their Android app, Brendan can work remotely as long as he has his computer and a good Wi-Fi connection.

The Bay To Boise

When Covid hit, San Francisco shut down, so Brendan decided to not renew his lease in the city and spend part of his time in Boise, where he grew up. “I get the best of both worlds. San Francisco and Boise are very different, and I enjoy both, so traveling back and forth has been great.” When he made the change, there were still many unknowns about when the office would reopen, and luckily Autolist did not require a hard and fast return.

Onboarding Is Critical

However, remote work isn’t for everyone. It is no secret that some employees have felt isolated while working from home, perhaps more for those onboarding remotely. Autolist has had to be proactive about bringing on new, remote staff. “If you had already been established at a company before the company went remote, it’s easier to keep strong relationships with other teammates. But if you are starting new at a remote company and don’t know anyone, it is more challenging. At Autolist, we believe onboarding is critical for new hires to meet the broader team. Each new hire has a 20-minute casual meeting scheduled with every other teammate (we only have twenty-five people), which helps the new hire meet everyone within a couple of weeks.”

Set A Strick Calendar Schedule

For those used to the office, transitioning to a full work-from-home experience was not easy, and Brendan learned a few lessons along the way. “I learned how important it is to set a strict calendar schedule. When working remote, there is not a natural end to your workday like leaving the office to commute home. Work and personal time can blend together, and it can be hard to keep these priorities separate. I learned to set a strict schedule and put both work and personal responsibilities on my calendar in order to achieve a healthy work-life balance.”

“I recommend people invest heavily in their home office space. If you are going to sit in a chair and use a desk all day, getting the right equipment to create an environment for success is super valuable.”

Brendan Spillane

Create A Productive Environment As A Digital Nomad

Brendan’s favorite thing about working from home is his office. “I like that I can  customize my home workspace more than I could in an office. With a stipend, I can buy anything from wall art to a desk plant, which allows me to set up an environment where I can be most productive. I recommend people invest heavily in their home office space. If you are going to sit in a chair and use a desk all day, getting the right equipment to create an environment for success is super valuable.”

Check “The Great Workplace Compromise Part 1” now!

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