From our Remote Works Monthly Newsletter. Sign-up today here.
💬 Shout Outs - Dec 2022
Is remote working helping with family life? TIME gives insight into this question in their recent article, “Remote Work Is Helping Dads Do More at Home. Let's Make Sure It Stays That Way.”
Learn what thoughtful folks say about the future of work at the Future Forum. Tam specifically loved Forbe’s Jena McGreggor’s call to experiment: “I think the least constructive [use of the term] is where the future is just something that's going to happen, where we're debating what will change as opposed to taking a more intentional approach and thinking about it as an opportunity to reimagine the way [we] work. People are making tweets or blog posts or articles that are speculating about what's going to happen to them, as opposed to them being actors in creating it.”
What role should coprporation’s play in their employee’s life? This Hedgehog review of Carolyn Chen’s new book, Work Pray Code, examines Silicon Valley’s culture, which she coins corporate maternalism.
4 Day Week Global has been piloting a 4-day workweek in the US and Ireland. Check out the preliminary results here (H/T: Amy Bonsall of Collective)
💬 Shout Outs - Nov 2022
Have you been watching the Twitter takeover on the news? Check out Tam’s two cents on how Elon Musk’s latest leadership acts represent the dichotomy of input vs. output culture.
Did you know that, on average, 30% of people experience workplace bullying? Learn more about the common ways bullying manifests in the workplace and what you can do to stop it.
Culture still exists in remote organizations, but it looks different. Check out HBR’s tips for co-creating a vibrant remote culture in your organization.
Wish you had more data about whether or not remote actually works? Well, Stanford economists have done just that. Take a look at the results of a randomized control trial at a large tech company experimenting with a hybrid work schedule here.
And last but not least, another thing to be grateful for… Americans now spend 60 million fewer hours per day commuting to work! (That adds up to 2.5 million days of collective time that can be used for anything besides sitting in a car or feeling squashed on a subway train!)
💬 Shout Outs - Oct 2022
Wondering about a career switch? Tam’s been digging the effective altruism movement that believes your career is your most important decision. Why? Well, on average, it will determine 80,000 hours of your life.
One of our experts, Ali Brandt, shares her tips for understanding customer needs and pain points at scale as a product manager. We love her second tip: lean into remote tools for customer research.
Tam loves Eve Rodsky’s book and platform on Fair Play, which is new to her, and discovered through a newsletter from one of our experts, Sally Thornton. While not a parent, many of Tam’s friends are—and she loved the data-driven, structure-focused approach Eve brought to household management.
💬 Shout Outs - Sept 2022
Check out Wonder’s latest blog post summarizing insights from their latest podcast guests—including ours truly, Tam.
Join the discussion on how remote work surveillance misses the boat on productivity on LinkedIn here.
Curious how others are challenging the status quo? Check out how 70 companies trialed a 4-day work week here.
Looking for thoughtful DE&I training? Check out Theory of Enchantment’s online training and podcast on the founder, Chloe’s philosophical approach.
💬 Shout Outs - Aug 2022
More legal and HR woes are discussed in the recent Washington Post article, “When remote workers live far away, who pays for their office visits?”
Davis Smith, Founder & CEO of Cotopaxi, shared some recent insights from an internal Remote Work survey. Check out the responses and subsequent conversations on LinkedIn here.
Remote is planning for its third Remote Influencer Report. Ali was joined by an amazing line-up of remote work experts and leaders in last year’s report. If you have any recommendations for who they should include next year, please submit them here!
💬 Shout Outs - July 2022
Nearly two years after Dropbox announced itself as a virtual-first company, Andy Wilson, director of product, talks about why hybrid work was never an option and what lessons the company has learned. Check out his learnings in a Q&A by Computer World.
While we disagree you should get a pay cut for working remotely, 50% of workers in the U.S. would be willing to take a 5% pay cut to do so, according to Owl Labs in a recent report. The sentiment is higher amongst BIPOC employees who face micro-aggressions and discrimination at work. Remote work can promote inclusivity and cut costs in the face of layoffs. It sounds like a win-win to us! Learn more in this Prism Report.
💬 Shout Outs - June 2022
The conversation around the biggest new job title continues with two of our favs: Tyler Sellhorn and Scott Markovitz. So what is a Head of Remote and do you need one? Find out on this episode of Leading from Afar.
You likely have heard about Airbnb going fully remote, but do you know how they came to that decision? Here is a look at how they decided on that remote work policy.
The WSJ covered how remote work makes a real difference for neurodivergent workers. We chatted to Cat, featured in this article, for our book. How can remote work make your company more inclusive?
*** We took April and May 2022 off to finish our book ***
💬 Shout Outs - Mar 2022
A recent New York Times article, “The 9-to-5 Schedule Should Be the Next Pillar of Work to Fall,'' discusses the benefits of true flexibility, highlighting our two past workplaces, DuckDuckGo and Automattic. “If more employers truly embraced flexible schedules and allowed employees to work at the times that are best for them, experts say, the benefits would be a healthier and more productive, creative and loyal workforce.” We couldn’t agree more.
Franziska Spoddig, Founder of Instill, compiled learnings from three different remote work surveys: The buffer state of remote work report 2022, Microsoft’s Work Trend Index Report, and Oyster’s Employee Expectation Report. Check out her full summary here. It’s no surprise (at least to us) that the non-negotiables mentioned are flexibility and well-being!
💬 Shout Outs - Feb 2022
Zoom Fatigue, meetings, and give your brain a break already: Tyler Sellhorn, Head of Customer Experience at Yac, recently posted takeaways from a new study on synchronous meetings, stress levels and how it may be impacting women more than men. Read more and join the conversation here.
The future of “Head of Remote”: Chase Warrington, Head of Remote at Doist and one of our featured expert interviewees, breaks down this hot new role in his recent Forbes article: What is a Head of Remote and do you need one?