What to Consider When Going Remote

It’s no secret that the pandemic completely changed the way many of us work. Since the start of 2020, Postlight has seen record growth in hiring for remote positions, and that shows no sign of slowing down. Remote work has been proven to improve work-life balance and overall well-being for employees, but it comes with challenges. Nine of our Postlight remote coworkers share what they love about it, the difficulties we face, how we engage and give back to company culture, and advice for those considering joining a remote-friendly company like Postlight.

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How long have you worked remotely?

Four months.

What do you love about it?

What’s really nice about remote work is how comfortable it feels. Everything is adjusted to your own personal preferences (desk, chair, lightning, music, mood). Another amazing upside is how much time I can spend near my family and my dog. That’s something I really appreciate.

Challenges?

Working remotely has been a little challenging mentally. Being in the same space, alone, every day, can have some serious impact on your mood and morale. Another downside is how difficult it gets to become close with your team and coworkers. Unlike being in the office, getting to know your colleagues needs a lot of effort from both sides. 

How do you contribute to company culture as a remote employee?

I always try to get to know the person sitting behind the screen. I engage with people and ask a lot of questions to get to know them better.

Best advice?

The best advice I can give anyone working remotely is to try to be as self-disciplined as possible. We need to create a healthy routine, create a dedicated workspace, and try to engage with our colleagues as often as possible.

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How long have you worked remotely?

Before joining Postlight, I worked in a hybrid model for close to eight years. I would go into the office maybe one or two times a week. Once the pandemic hit, I was fully remote and have been since!

What do you love about it?

I have really fallen in love with remote working since becoming a mom. I don’t think work-life balance is a realistic thing, but I do feel that with remote work I can be more flexible, more involved with my family, and better able to juggle all of life’s boring obligations like laundry, dishes, grocery shopping, etc. I love not having as many distractions, no extra watercooler talk, and being in my own environment. I also love a good nap over the lunch hour if I’ve had a really long night with my toddler. The flexibility to schedule and run to appointments whenever it fits into my day is always nice, and having the time to be with my son when he’s sick is priceless. I get to hang out with my dog and cats more too!

Challenges?

Time zones and meetings are at the top of the list for me. It’s hard to schedule meetings with all of the different time zones and also have a sacred lunch hour. Communication can be challenging, which I think makes meetings more of a go-to in remote work, and they can be more exhausting than being in person. Lastly, it can feel hard sometimes, like you aren’t really part of a company when there are office things going on, but that comes with the territory.

How do you contribute to company culture as a remote employee?

I think the biggest thing is that I try to get to know people I’m working with by asking a lot of questions about their lives outside of work — about friends, family, music taste, pancakes or waffles, etc. I try to keep up in Slack (even though it’s impossible), and throw some humor and my 2 cents in when I can. I’m big on sending a DM for a birthday or anniversary instead of only reacting with an emoji— it’s way more personal. I also participate in ERGs that are of interest to me.

Best advice?

Experiment with your routine, and find one that works best for you and your lifestyle. Make an effort to really get to know the people you’re working with, even if you never meet them in person. Take frequent breaks. Don’t eat lunch in front of your screen. Do something outside of work to stay connected with other humans: Have coffee or lunch with a friend, take a yoga class or a fitness class to have some sort of a social environment. Go easy on the snacks, and don’t forget to move your body.

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How long have you worked remotely?

Six years.

What do you love about it?

No commute, a fully stocked kitchen for lunch and snacks, schedule flexibility, and complete silence whenever I need it.

Name some challenges you face working remotely.

Losing out on what is probably the best way to make friends as an adult. Internet friends are fun, but they’re not the same.

How do you contribute to company culture as a remote employee?

By being chatty in Slack and trying to be a good example of setting work-life boundaries.

Best advice?

Define your schedule. Leave yourself time to be “unproductive.” It can be very easy to think you have to prove you’re working all the time. Focus on delivering your work, but still try to have fun. Being productive all the time might work for a bit, but it will catch up with you.

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How long have you worked remotely?

Three years hybrid and two years fully remote.

What do you love about it?

Having my own space set up exactly as I want helps me do better work. On days I used to work in an office, I often had headphones on because I didn’t like the music that was playing or because people were being super chatty when I was trying to focus. In a way, that made me feel almost more separated from my team — like I was there, but not really there. Working remotely, I’m more present and available when someone needs to chat live or during meetings, and then nonsynchronous time lets me get work done the way I like to.

Remote work makes me feel more connected with my city. Northern New Jersey is a major commuting hub for New York City, so up until five years ago, I spent most of my time in NYC, because that’s where I worked. I would do things like appointments and errands before or after work in NYC because of the time factor. Now I feel like I can enjoy and appreciate where I live more fully and do things like getting food from local places or walking around my neighborhood park at lunch, in addition to just having more of my life revolve around the place where I live — things like doctor’s appointments or haircuts or fitness classes. I feel better about doing those things locally and supporting businesses in my area. 

Challenges?

Without external cues (like groups of people getting up for lunch or a colleague asking if you want a coffee as they walk out), sometimes it can be easy to forget to take breaks. I’m definitely guilty of blocking off an hour for lunch on my calendar and then getting distracted or in the groove with something and pushing it back and pushing it back, and then it’s much later in the afternoon than I thought.

At times, it can be difficult to build rapport. It takes more deliberate communication and outreach to cultivate relationships. Sometimes that falls to the bottom of the list, especially when you’ve got a fuller plate. I’m also guilty of thinking, “I should send a DM to that person and say hi,” or, “It’s been a while since I chatted with them,” and then taking a week (or two…) to reach out.

How do you contribute to company culture as a remote employee?

Culture is something shared and understood by all, and the way to ensure that understanding is by communicating it clearly and often: in internal documentation, in Slack posts, in All-Hands announcements, etc. To me, your culture is your process. Things like good perks and events and social connections are important, but if your operational functions are all byzantine, full of confusing language, and not often discussed or visible, that has a negative impact on culture. I like to believe that my strongest contributions are cutting through that to make things simple and clear and accessible for everyone.

Best advice?

Don’t be afraid to chat with people. Especially when your company is fully or mostly remote, everyone understands that you have to be intentional about making those connections happen. It’s nice to schedule casual, recurring informal chats with people who aren’t your manager or on your project team. I think once a month is a nice cadence. It’s really pleasant to see a meeting on your calendar that isn’t about work.

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How long have you worked remotely?

In my previous role as a CPO, we started a remote policy for all NYC staff in January of 2020, so I had about a two month lead on the big push to remote when the pandemic hit.

What do you love about it?

I have a 14-month-old daughter, so being able to see her in the morning, have lunch with her days I’m WFH, and just be around is a really special thing to me. Additionally, I am the cook in our family, so being able to make myself and my wife lunch when we’re both home is nice, and also usually means a healthier meal. Finally, being able to steal a few moments for errands or a workout is great.

Challenges?

Having two people working in one apartment with a nanny and a 14-month-old can be very squished. The occasional slow internet or the like is also problematic on important calls.

How do you contribute to company culture as a remote employee?

Communication! I’ve been trying to have e-coffees with people before I ever interact with them for something work-related, and I make sure I’m actively engaging in the non-work-related areas. I try to over-index on public/project Slack channels to ensure nothing is said only between two people.

Best advice?

Meet and greet like it’s your job the first month or so. Get to know people and have those conversations. Try and engage early in the digital arenas of interest to you, and if they don’t exist, create them. Postlight was the first place I worked where I didn’t create the D&D room, and that’s lovely.

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How long have you worked remotely?

I have worked remotely one day a week since 2018 and transitioned to working 100% remotely during the pandemic. I mention the one day a week period because I already had a home office setup ready to go.

What do you love about it?

I love not needing to put so much effort into getting ready for work. It relieves me of travel expenses, the time it takes to get ready to head out, preparing for lunch/breakfast on the go, and even changes how I prepare to dress. No one sees my shoes working from home.

Challenges?

There are some time management challenges. There seem to be more meetings. Back-to-back meetings are less of a thing in the office because folks need time to occupy rooms and settle before meetings. You go through this phase where you wonder if it’s normal to not have breaks in between meetings just because you don’t physically have to go anywhere. Sometimes you need to learn how to advocate for your time, which isn’t always easy to do. 

How do you contribute to company culture as a remote employee?

In onboarding new people, I help them understand it’s okay to protect their work-life balance. For 1 on 1’s with folks who have been working for a while, I always ask how they are doing.

Best advice?

I advise folks to find their balance and protect it. It’s easy to fall into the trap of “appearing” to be working hard and overcompensating because folks may not visibly see you working. That isn’t sustainable. I encourage people to be aware of fatigue, stick to their work hours, take breaks, refrain from attending back-to-back meetings, and find the time where they are most productive (could be evening or morning, or mid-day) and lean into it.

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How long have you worked remotely?

Six years.

What do you love about it?

Flexibility. Also able to concentrate more in bigger chunks of time. Quieter and a better environment for me to focus. Dog care. Honestly, being able to roll out of bed to my desk.

Challenges?

Social aspects. Being in online meetings all day feels more draining than meeting in person.

How do you contribute to company culture as a remote employee?

Slack, joining ERGs, and joining social events, like BINGO.

Best advice?

Make sure you can focus at home (space for a desk etc). Do you thrive on social aspects of work? Remote isn’t a good fit. Are you wishing you could avoid talking to people who come to your desk every 10 mins? Remote might be a good fit. If you are looking to meet friends outside of the workplace, remote is probably not a good fit. If you have lots of family things going on (laundry, pets) may be a good thing.

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How long have you worked remotely?

Six months.

What do you love about it?

I love the flexibility of working anywhere.

Challenges?

Not being able to get instant feedback and having to put my thoughts into meaningful words to describe any issue I’m facing. Not getting to socialize and know your coworkers better.

How do you contribute to company culture as a remote employee?

I try to open conversation with my coworkers and participate in any social meetings not related to work.

Best advice?

I would recommend working from a coworking space if that’s available to you, try to socialize, and get to know the people behind the screens.

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How long have you worked remotely? (for Postlight or in other roles)

I’ve been working remotely on and off since the start of the pandemic. I’ve worked full-time remotely starting in September 2021 when I joined Postlight.

What do you love about it?

I love not having to take time out of my day to commute. I love working at my own personal desk and setup. I love lunch time and how easy it is to make something in my kitchen or order food to my door.

Challenges?

I’m a very social person, so not being able to see people face-to-face and have just casual conversations in passing is a bummer for me. It’s also very easy to just never leave the house and stay inside sitting at my desk all day, which isn’t great for your physical and mental health.

How do you contribute to company culture as a remote employee?

I try to be very active in Slack channels that I’m interested in, and I attend any virtual happy hour or event that I can.

Best advice?

Reach out to people and ask to talk to them. Set up coffee chats or 1-on-1’s with people and turn your camera on. Spend some time getting to know people outside of meetings and work context.

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