Remote Work: Helen Hensell of Super Purposes On How To Successfully Navigate The Opportunities & Challenges Of Working Remotely Or From Home
Remote work is great until it isn’t. Working remotely only works well when employees are more persistent in communication. Communication is vital in a remote working environment.
When you work in a physical office setting, you see the people you work with daily. Even if you don’t want to communicate, you are forced to. For example, you may run into them in the hallway, or one of your colleagues might ask if you want to grab a coffee with them
As a part of our series about the things you need to successfully work remotely, I had the pleasure of interviewing Helen Hensell.
Helen Hensell is a Senior Social Media Marketer at Super Purposes, an innovative career coaching company that has helped over 17,000 people find purpose-filled careers with their online “How to get a job in 12 weeks!” career courses. During the pandemic, she started a personal lifestyle blog, growing her following to over 40,000 people across Twitter, Instagram, and LinkedIn. Helen excels at creating compelling social media captions that bring traction while raising awareness on many pivotal issues people face today. As she grows in this ever-changing field, she hopes to become a positive force for underrepresented people and brands.
Thank you so much for doing this with us! Before we dig in, our readers would love to get to know you a bit better. What is your “backstory”?
Since I was little, I was confused about what I wanted to do or who I wanted to be. After graduating high school in 2007, I majored in communications at a four-year college. I still wasn’t quite sure what I wanted to do, which frustrated me. I liked to write, and I always knew I wanted to be a writer. I wrote a few blogs in high school and middle school and enjoyed interacting with people and the audience and expressing myself online. I liked it better than just writing with a pen and paper.
After I graduated, I still didn’t know what I wanted to do. I needed to learn how to connect my degree to all my other interests. I ended up getting a job teaching ESL from home, which was perfect since I could stay home with my daughter. This was my first introduction to working remotely. However, a few years later, when the pandemic was in full swing, all tutors were laid off because the Chinese government changed its regulations and banned Americans from teaching their students. So, I started blogging again and realized how much I missed it.
Around that time, I got another job as a freelance writer for DennyWrites.com (now FirstClassWriting.com). I was thankful for the opportunity; it came a year after teaching fell through. The role gave me the experience of writing blogs; I wrote anywhere from 20 to 40 blogs a month.
One topic I focused on was the experiences of biracial people because I’m biracial and bilingual. My dad was in the military and met my mom in Korea. Because of this, I’ve always been confused about my identity and found that many people are as well. People wonder who they are, what they want, and what they can do. I always wanted to connect all the different parts of my identity and my love for writing.
Thankfully, I found that connection from blogging while writing about these topics. I have a Medium account where I’ve written about some of the challenges of being biracial. My kids are also multiracial, so I’ve written a lot about some challenges I face as a parent of mixed-race kids.
Can you share the most interesting story that happened to you since you started your career?
While blogging during the pandemic, I had an Instagram page. I had around a thousand followers. Before that, Instagram had offered me a free advertisement. I used it on one of my daughter’s pictures, and after a few hours or maybe a few days, I had all these new followers. I went from 500 or 600 to around a thousand followers. I jumped back onto Instagram to use that platform to promote my blog.
I started creating posts and stories and discovered I still needed to learn about that platform. I started trying to reach a goal of 10,000 followers. I wanted to be an influencer, so I started doing these follow-for-follow tactics to increase my engagement. It worked to a degree but needed to be more sustainable.
People were following me but weren’t necessarily interested in my content, so I deleted the app. I do regret it at times, and it was a relief. Instagram can be a cesspool for distractions. After deleting the page, I had more time to do other things.
Can you share a story about the funniest mistake you made when you were first starting? Can you tell us what lesson you learned from that?
I made my LinkedIn account in 2014, right before graduating from college. I had a string of internships after graduating. One of my internships involved cold calling and contacting people to sell a product. I was instructed to follow and connect with people who were connected with people I was already following. I used the provided script to copy and paste into the messaging for a potential sale. Well, I did this work as instructed. I soon discovered that most people would ignore me. And if they did say something, they would offer a simple, vague reply. There was also a chosen few who would seem interested but would never follow through.
And then there was that one person who responded with, “What are you doing? GET AWAY.” (Not really in “all caps,” but the tone I heard sounded like it.)
I learned many things from this experience.
- I learned that cold calling rarely works. People don’t listen to strangers. They don’t want to be preached to. They don’t want to be sold something.
- I’m not good at cold calling. I feel uncomfortable convincing people to spend their hard-earned money on something. That is why I knew that affiliate marketing would not be for me.
- Social media is all about relationships and the community. There is a reason why it is called “social.” You’ve got to be social. It is all about creating a community of people who value and respect your opinion. And not because they want something from you.
What advice would you give to other business leaders to help their employees thrive and avoid burnout?
It’s typical for employees to experience burnout. As a leader, one of the most important things to do is to learn how to challenge your employees. They can learn new things by continuously challenging them to grow personally and professionally. A leader could also offer different incentives to motivate employees to improve themselves perpetually.
Okay, let’s jump to the core of our interview. Working remotely can be very different than working with a team that is in front of you. This provides great opportunities, but it can also create unique challenges. To begin, can you articulate for our readers a few of the main benefits and opportunities of working remotely?
One of the benefits of remote work is that you have more free time to do things you want, such as spending more time with your family. There’s so much flexibility, which is crucial if you have kids or a family. Remote work allows you to rearrange your work schedule to fit your demands and vice versa.
You can work whenever you want, wherever you want. This is very nice for me, as I enjoy a change in scenery sometimes. On another note, remote work allows you to create your schedule and hours.
If you work in an office, you typically must work eight to five, Monday through Friday. However, when you work remotely, you have the power to arrange your schedule to best fit your lifestyle. For example, you could work four days a week and have Friday off by putting in a few extra hours Monday through Thursday. Another option is to have a few days off during the week and catch up on work on the weekend. Additionally, you save money on gas by eliminating the commute to work.
Can you articulate for our readers what the five main challenges are regarding working remotely?
1 . The main challenge is the need for more communication. When you work remotely, the entire team is in different locations, so it is essential to maintain good communication. You must be aware of what everyone is working on and stay updated regularly via meetings and project management tools because otherwise, there’s no communication, which can become frustrating.
2 . The next challenge is when there’s no system in place to organize tasks. It’s challenging when there’s no list or anything to let your teammates know what they should be working on or what they should be doing. Task organization is critical so that everyone knows what their responsibilities are.
3 . Another challenge of remote work is that juggling work and home life can be difficult. The two can sometimes intertwine since remote work often involves working from home. When you’re not working, it can feel like you should be and vice versa.
4 . An additional challenge is feeling confined to your home. Sometimes, I want to go outside the house to escape or be in a different environment.
5 . The final challenge would be facing the misconceptions of working remotely. Some people may think it’s easier than working in an office or working hybrid, but it’s not. It comes with its own set of unique challenges.
Based on your experience, what can one do to address or redress each of those challenges? Can you give a story or example for each?
Checking with teammates is the best way to resolve a lack of communication. By being clear on what individual expectations are and what responsibilities are, communication can increase. Asking questions, as well as encouraging teammates to ask questions, promotes open communication. Regular meetings, screenshots, and other visual tactics to increase understanding are ways to improve communication in a remote setting.
At one point in my career, I had a teammate who didn’t communicate well. She would disappear for hours on end and not answer her messages promptly. Things like this become very frustrating, especially when things are busy and deadlines are tight. So, keeping communication open and frequent is vital for a successful remote work experience.
Using a project management system and official task management platforms such as Asana is very beneficial. Doing so can ensure everyone knows their responsibilities, expectations, and tasks, making the general workflow much smoother without avoidable questions or confusion. Asana is a powerful tool for organizing workspaces. But I’ve experienced times when it didn’t work as well as intended.
I use Asana regularly with my other work. One of the features I noticed is how you can organize it to keep track of work and delegate it to employees. Anyway, in my other job, I create social media posts and videos for a health service business. I had completed the work and was waiting for feedback from my supervisor.
I waited until the due date for her feedback, not wanting to message sooner as I was not particularly eager to badger her unnecessarily. So, on the due date, I contacted my supervisor, tagging her, to ask for an update on the feedback.
Well, she must have seen my message. Because she slacked me and said, “There appears to be a miscommunication issue. Let’s discuss it on video conferencing.” Long story short. I had missed the feedback that had been given.
From this experience, I learned to be more diligent and careful, checking every thread to ensure no overdue message awaited me. I was grateful that my supervisor was patient and understanding of the situation as I realized I was sitting there twiddling my thumbs, waiting for a response that never seemed to come.
There are also ways to combat juggling home life and work life. Having a schedule of when you will be working versus when you’ll be off the clock and sticking to that is essential. For example, if I set aside 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. for work, from 5 p.m. onwards, I take the time to focus on and do the things that make me happy without any work-related distractions. Every morning, I mentally make a schedule of what I will get done on that day of work. That way, I know when I will be writing a blog or attending a meeting, and I can squeeze in other things, such as picking my daughter up from school.
When working remotely, there are multiple ways to combat feeling confined to your home. Sometimes, I feel almost claustrophobic or overwhelmed at home working all day. Working in an office offers at least some quality social interaction, but working at home does not present that opportunity. To remedy this, I often try to get out of the house for a quick change of scenery. Sometimes, I run an errand to the store to grab something quickly, solely to interact with people outside the house. This is weird because I consider myself an introvert, as I often prefer staying at home and being alone instead of interacting with people. But it’s an instinct for humans to interact with each other to an extent. Otherwise, it can feel like you’re going to go stir-crazy. Just going for a quick walk outside can be helpful to recharge when things feel too overwhelming.
Finally, there are many ways to deal with the misunderstandings of working remotely. Continuing to educate people on what it’s like to work remotely is vital. Even though many people are coming to embrace remote work as it gains popularity, some people might need help understanding what it is and what it feels like if they have yet to experience it firsthand. I wanted to do this interview to break down the walls, show people what it’s like to work remotely and clear up misconceptions.
Do you have any suggestions specifically for people who work at home? What are a few ways to be most productive when you work at home?
One piece of advice for people working at home is to have a schedule and know what you will work on. Write a plan in Google Sheets to keep your day organized. Another thing is to have a workspace that’s comfortable and inviting. At home, I generally work in the same place, either at my desk or sometimes on the couch, because it’s a lot more comfortable. I also like to have background music on to make the space more appealing for work.
Another suggestion is to get outside! Sometimes, when working at home, you might get stir-crazy and need to be outdoors. It’s nice to have an alternative workplace and get some fresh air. I enjoy going to the library, Starbucks, or a place with Wi-Fi to finish a few hours of work. Working in a different environment allows you to take a break from your norm and become exposed to fresh perspectives, which helps you to think more clearly.
Can you share any suggestions for teams who are used to working together on location but are forced to work remotely due to the pandemic? Are there potential obstacles one should avoid with a team that is just getting used to working remotely?
One crucial thing to do is replicate a sense of community for a team that may be forced to work remotely due to the pandemic or other circumstances. Creating a community can be done by having meetings online, using software to organize your tasks, and checking in with teammates via messaging.
One thing I love about Super Purposes is that even though it’s a fully remote company, it does feel like a community because we have regular meetings. Most people are super active and constantly communicating on Skype. So, it feels like a virtual office. Working with all these brilliant people toward a common goal is very motivating, even though we are often thousands of miles apart.
Remote work is great until it isn’t. Working remotely only works well when employees are more persistent in communication. Communication is vital in a remote working environment.
When you work in a physical office setting, you see the people you work with daily. Even if you don’t want to communicate, you are forced to. For example, you may run into them in the hallway, or one of your colleagues might ask if you want to grab a coffee with them.
When you work remotely, you may go days where you don’t see your teammates. Because of this, they won’t know what you are working on, if you are struggling, or if you need help with something. There are many ways remote work can go wrong when communication is not at its best. That is why it is essential to maintain constant contact with your direct supervisor, team, and other people who work at the company.
I’ve worked for a few remote companies. Some companies have had people who are excellent at communicating. You ask a question and then get a response within minutes. Those have always been my favorite companies. It is there that I felt heard, accepted, and valued.
But then I’ve also worked with supervisors and teammates who would take hours or even days to respond. When that happens, it becomes a frustrating experience. The environment even turns into an aggressive place that makes you not want to work there. That is when I feel I am not respected or a valued part of the company. It is certainly not a good feeling to have. And that is what can happen when there is a lack of communication at a company.
To combat this, companies could offer training to get teammates acclimated to a remote work environment and increase their motivation. I’ve had plenty of teammates who might need help with communication. I might post something, but sometimes I wonder if anyone’s even read the message because they have yet to give any indication to show that they’ve seen it. This can be very frustrating, just wondering about the status of something when no one is interacting.
What do you suggest can be done to create an empowering work culture and team culture with a team that is remote and not physically together?
One way is by hosting online seminars, courses, or meetings to bring the team together and improve the sense of community and belonging. Having more activities in which the team can work together is vital.
For example, at my company, we have team meetings in which we write posts together for social media or decide how to plan the next month’s content. That helps because everyone’s contributing, and it feels like more of a community. In our weekly Writer’s Room meetings, we aim to create social media posts for our social platforms. The magic of these virtual meetings is that everyone comes together from graphic design, comedy content writing, marketing strategy, and communications and creates a post.
A few weeks ago, we started a post for social media, and everyone contributed to the chat. Everyone wrote a sentence, and then we put all those sentences together in the document and edited it one by one. We revised it, and I loved it because everyone contributed, as we all had something to say about it. The post was better because of the group contribution and collaboration.
You are a person of great influence. If you could spread an idea or inspire a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger. :-)
My answer may seem counterintuitive because of my title, but one idea would be occasionally having a no-social media day. People are on social media and their phones so much, so it is nice to take a break. A few years ago, I lost my phone for a day. I was devastated for those hours; I couldn’t access my social media accounts. At the same time, though, it was so freeing not to check a device 24/7. Now, I wait for a message or a notification and do things I enjoy without constantly checking a screen. So, I would love for people to get off social media more.
Another thing that I would love to see is more kindness. Sometimes, when driving, I see people holding signs or asking for food or money, and I wish I could help them. If I had enough money to give everyone, I would, but I can’t. It just makes me so sad. Let’s figure out how to get enough food and money for everyone. I want everyone to be on an equal playing field, and there is a way for people to have a better life and not struggle so much.
I love that my neighborhood has a Facebook group based on helping your neighbors out. For instance, you could post a question or a request, and sometimes, people respond and offer assistance for free or in exchange for a favor. It’s so lovely to see the power of kindness because it feels like you don’t see that as much. Otherwise, it can be lonely being an adult. Everyone’s in it for themselves instead of for the community.
Can you please give us your favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Can you share how that was relevant to you in your life?
This question is a tough one. Throughout my career, I’ve made a lot of choices. Looking back, some were good, and others I wish I hadn’t made. One moment that stands out is when I was in my sophomore year of college. I had to take an Introduction to Psychology class because it was required to graduate. I was apprehensive about it, as I had heard that the course was challenging and the exams were designed to trip students up.
I took it, and from the first day, I loved it. The professor I had was excellent. He could explain complex concepts such as Pavlov’s law in simple layperson’s terms. His lectures were so interesting that I debated switching majors from German to psychology.
I went and spoke with my psychology professor in his office. I told him I wanted to change majors even though that meant I couldn’t graduate on time. I explained that I enjoyed my German major courses and was supposed to study abroad in Berlin the following year but couldn’t stop thinking about being a psychology major. He patiently listened to me and asked, “Are you going to base your decision on one psychology course?” Put that way, it seemed rather silly that I was considering switching. Just because I liked one course didn’t necessarily mean that I should major in it. I loved studying German and speaking the language, so in the end, I decided to say yes to studying abroad in Germany. I had the best time there — I learned so much about another culture and improved my German skills, which was a great experience.
But what if I didn’t go? I do wonder about that. Who would I have been? Would I have majored in Psychology? If I had chosen the other path, what would I have done? Every time I decide, I remember this quote: “Choices make consequences.” My 10th-grade English teacher said that to us nearly every day, and it has been pounding inside my head ever since.
There are other decisions, too; what if I hadn’t moved to Florida? What if I hadn’t had kids? What if I didn’t go back to college the second time around? Knowing the right decision can be complex, with many possible paths. You have to make it. Go with your gut instinct. Do what feels right to you at the time. And trust yourself. Things will work out in the end; they always do.
How can our readers further follow your work online?
You can find me at https://superpurposes.com, follow me on Twitter at @hhensell, Medium at helen-hensell.medium.com, and on LinkedIn at linkedin.com/in/helenhensell
Thank you for these great insights! We wish you continued success.
