Apr 22 2020Kevin FishnerPrecautions to limit the spread of COVID-19 have required many office workers to work from home for the past few weeks. Given our distributed organization with over 950 employees across 13 countries, other companies and individuals adopting remote work for the first time have asked us to share our best practices. Rather than trying to write a list of tips or general remote advice, we collected stories of HashiCorp employees' remote work habits and how they're adapting their routine due to COVID-19. These folks have a diversity of roles, backgrounds, and history with distributed work; each approach it in their own way. We hope their stories are informative and humanize working remotely as people explore it for the first time. If this is your first experience working remotely, know that even our organization, which has had remote-first operations for years, is struggling to find new routines. Now, more than ever, with kids at home, local businesses closed, and travel restricted, there’s no one right way to work remotely. Each employee's interview showed a different approach to working remotely, from interweaving their work and life schedules to keeping them completely distinct. While there are definitely differences, HashiCorp employees have a few things in common in approaching remote work — they look inwards to understand what's important to them, they shape their work environment and calendar to reflect those priorities, and they thoughtfully communicate and connect with colleagues. Working remotely is a blank slate; you don't have to work standard hours, commute to an office, or work a specific way. The only expectations are to contribute to the company goals while following our Principles. When presented with a blank slate, our employees look inwards to understand what they value. Cameron, a solutions engineer, shared his process to build a home working space that reflects himself. Ernesto, a senior recruiter, emphasized the importance of introspection and iteration until you find the right combination for you. Our environments shape us; we often overvalue willpower and undervalue the environment. In his book Atomic Habits, James Clear states that motivation (and even talent) is often overvalued. Remote work is an opportunity to have more influence over personal environments — both time and space. Time in terms of how employees schedule their days, and space in terms of how they construct their work setting. Employees look inwards to understand what's important to them, then shape their spaces and routines to not just reflect their priorities, but encourage them. While employees aren't expected to be in an office from 9 to 5, most employees build their own structure. Distributed work enables flexibility, but that doesn't mean employees aren't disciplined. Quite the opposite, they enforce a disciplined schedule that works for them. Each person has found their own work-life balance. Some integrate work and life by staying connected throughout the day, others create strict boundaries. It takes time, introspection, and adjustment for each person to find their own personal rhythm. The thoughtfulness of constructing an intentional environment extends beyond the individual; it's a core part of how our employees communicate and connect as a community. Distributed companies don't provide a social network "for free" like co-located companies, so it's essential for employees to be more intentional about creating both their work community and their local community. Our employees apply the same level of thoughtfulness to building relationships inside and outside of work. Communication is probably the most important practice in distributed organizations. Email, Slack, Zoom are the main tools of the trade at HashiCorp, and each requires thoughtfulness. While our history of remote communication and connection is a good starting point, COVID-19 affects each of us differently. Employees have been resourceful and resilient in adapting to the circumstances. These stories provide some useful insights and approaches, and help others find their unique way of working remotely.