Oslo, Norway — It’s safe to say that both our work and personal lives have changed tremendously over the course of just a few weeks. A week before the Norwegian government implemented a nation-wide shutdown in the middle of March, we asked our employees to shift to working from home until further notice. Our employees' health and safety is a top priority for us, and luckily, as a tech startup, working remotely is something we are pretty familiar with. Flexible working hours is something that is ingrained in our company culture. Yet no one could foresee that we would all be working from home for such an unpredictable length of time.
Now that we’re two months into working remotely, we felt it was a great opportunity to survey our colleagues on their experience so far. We were looking to get insight into whether it’s been beneficial in any way, or not, how we’re making the most of it, and how it has affected our company culture? Here’s what we had to say:
What have been the pros of working from home?
🅕 A definite pro for me is that it’s quieter with fewer interruptions, which allows me to get more focused work done during peak hours. It’s also been really nice to have lunch with my family, especially if it’s nice enough to eat outside on the deck. In this respect, I have been lucky because I’m not quarantining solo. Is “quarantining” a word? If it wasn’t, I’m sure it is now, so I’m sticking with it.
🅡 The main advantage is that I can immediately get down to work whenever needed, whether that is sticking to office hours or working outside of office hours, which is really important to me as a developer. Time saved which would usually be spent commuting means they can be used for work.
🅣 For me, there’s certainly been a lot of pros. I am fortunate enough to have plenty of space and live in a quiet area. Although my commute isn’t extensive, I have been able to use my time in the morning on other things such as a nice breakfast and a walk to get me started for the day, which has really helped my mindset, especially during times like these. As well as that, it’s been easy to focus with fewer distractions. Working remotely has really made us evaluate which meetings are absolutely necessary, which has really helped me get a better workflow.
🅓 Being able to take a more flexible approach to the working day, such as starting earlier. Also, being able to find more time for some of the longer-term work that never gets done.
🅘 I get to work in my Pajamas!
🅢 There are many positive factors, such as the fact that I am more productive. I am more focused, have fewer distractions and I know how to maintain discipline. All communications on Slack are more precise, down to the point, and are helping to build a proper work log (or documentation, if you like). It’s the nature of written communications — you are more concise and less watered down when you formulate your question, so you understand the problem much better. I can plan my working hours without adjusting to the canteen working hours. As well as making good coffee whenever I want, I enjoy that my cat is always happy to help me. The same goes for my dog.
What have been the cons of working remotely?
🅕 One drawback has been not having my colleagues at close hand to bounce quick questions off of… Uh oh, I think that makes me also an “interrupter” too, LOL. 😅 Better add “becoming more self-aware” to the pros above!
🅡 The tables at home are not height adjustable, so switching between sitting and standing is not possible. Also, some meetings seem to be more effective when people sit together. Talking to someone sitting nearby is easier than communicating on Slack. It’s easier to know who is busy and who is available to talk when we sit together.
🅣 When it comes to cons, of course, the social aspect of work has been affected, but we have tried to overcome this by incorporating company-wide beers, virtual afternoon tea with the marketing team, and so on, which has really helped! Another con would be that it’s really easy to snack more!
🅓 Living in a one-bedroom flat hasn’t made conference calls easy. Reminds me that we really should fix that squeaky door 😊. There are too many snacks nearby with the fridge one step away from my desk. Maybe this is a pro? As well as that, I have more meetings than usual. That five-minute side-of-desk chat needs to be scheduled. Not knowing if you are really interrupting a colleague is definitely a con, in the office, you get the hint when someone doesn’t want the interruption.
🅘 No office canteen 🙁. On one hand, it’s easier to get distracted when working from home, but, on the other hand, it can be much easier to focus, since my apartment is a lot quieter than the open office.
🅢 I can think of only one — I do not practice my Norwegian as I should.
What are your home workspace essentials?
🅕 My child is also schooling and taking piano lessons from home, so noise-canceling headphones are a must. Working with background music is essential for me so a good playlist and speakers help me stay focused and relaxed. Other than that, an adjustable chair is a necessity. I have a nice simple one from Ikea that is comfortable and looks great. Also, a little bit of green goes a long way in a workspace, I like to keep a succulent plant on hand to brighten mine, plus, it’s harder to kill. 😅
🅡 Headphones, water bottle, pen and paper, laptop, and phone chargers.
🅣 A nice mug that makes me happy! My notebook to have my to-do list in front of me throughout the day. A monitor, plants, coffee, tea, and plenty of water are essentials for me. I also like to have headphones to have coffee shop music playing in the background.
🅓 Superfast broadband, big headphones, Zoom, keyboard, mouse, and the radio on in the background (when I’m not on calls).
🅘 My laptop is just about it.
🅢 Headphones, a cup of good coffee or tea, cat, dog, good keyboard and mouse, my books, and a good chair.
What’s your home workspace like? Does it work for you or not?
🅕 My home workspace is pretty minimal. It’s just me and my laptop at the dining table. It’s sunny and has a nice view of trees and the Oslo valley. I keep it super-uncluttered so that I won’t get distracted by needing to clean. It’s been nice to occasionally hop over to work on the couch too. I’m going to take advantage of the office couches more when we’re back in the office.
🅡 I converted my dining table to my workspace facing the wall! It gives an office desk like feel and helps me with focusing. The chair has the exact height I needed relative to the table height. All the necessary items are well arranged on the work surface and I removed the unnecessary items to keep it cleaner.
🅣 I’m fortunate enough to have a dedicated workspace with a monitor so it isn’t hugely different from the office. This really helps me to differentiate my working and relaxing environment at home. It works really well for me as it’s simple but has all that I need. I’ve always wanted to use it more so now has been a good opportunity!
🅓 It’s become the kitchen — I think my colleagues know my kitchen setup pretty well by now! Occasionally, I have to sit on the bed if my girlfriend gives me the boot when she needs to take a call.
🅘 I just sit at the dining table or on the sofa. It’s ok. I’m used to it because I do all my volunteer work this way too. I like to contribute to free software and open-source projects in my spare time. It’s usually to maintain and make improvements to tools that I use.
🅢 It’s a working space for working comfortably and productivity (see above, sorry for the tautology). One addition would be useful though — a second monitor (my eyes are not as they used to be).
Which online collaboration tools have been useful for keeping in touch?
🅕 We were heavy Slack users before the shutdown, and it’s been a huge part of our transitioning as well to work remotely. The ability to set up channels in Slack to organize our communication by team and topic has been really effective at keeping our email use to mostly external comms and inbox overload to a minimum. The call feature has also been great for quick calls, and one-to-one and small group meetings. Zoom has been useful for large meetings or gatherings. The gallery view in Zoom makes it fun to see everyone and virtual backgrounds make it easy to hide what you don’t want them to see, lol.
🅡 Slack and Zoom are the main communication channels I am using to connect to colleagues.
🅣 Slack has been great to drop quick messages and questions here and there when needed. We’ve also been using Kahoot for fun quizzes during our virtual Friday beers.
🅓 Slack and Zoom have helped and, when technology fails, just a simple old-school phone call still works.
🅘 I occasionally Slack call with my project coordinators to update them and ask questions. But, my research projects have me working pretty solo as of late. I did ace last week’s trivia quiz during Friday beers. 😅
🅢 I have been using Slack, and as explained above, written communications are the best for me for the following reasons:
- You send and receive clearer instructions/orders.
- You are more concise and to the point.
- Collaborating in SLACK/JIRA, helps to effectively build documentation (a core idea of SCRUM). You can always return to your checkpoints/steps, so they’re easy to reproduce.
- When you put the question in writing, you have half of your answer already.
- Better reporting
How do you feel working remotely has affected our company culture?
🅕 We were a pretty close group before shifting to working remotely and having a common sense of purpose has helped to keep us unified. I really have to give kudos to our management team for organizing us quickly and keeping us connected and informed with virtual daily standups, all office meetings 2–3 times a week, and of course Friday beers.
🅡 I joined the team after the work for home order was in place and have not yet been in the actual office. I am not exactly sure how it was before, but I do not see any efforts getting impacted due to working remotely.
🅣 I actually feel like it’s pushed us to think more creatively and we’ve made more of a conscious effort to keep our company culture alive. For example, we had a Friday Harry Potter quiz, and quizzes have not been something we have done much of before, so we’ve really been trying some new things which is great!
🅓 I feel we’ve managed it well, but then I feel we had a strong culture going into this period which was an important factor.
🅘 We have weekly Zoom quizzes. Last week we had the general knowledge quiz, and this week I have been nominated to make it. I would say I miss the Tech Shares and FinTalks though. It’s nice to hear about what other people are interested in. I guess that’s something we could do over Zoom though!
🅢 Frankly, I am learning more about our colleagues during online Friday beers. It might be the quizzes or that more are joining? Either way, they are fun.
What do you miss the most about working in the office?
🅕 We usually have at least one good laugh a day, so I miss that comradery and how it helps to break up the day. Although my cats have tried to fill that gap. I also miss my big double monitors, but I’ve adjusted to just working on my laptop and still love it, so that’s something. 😊
🅡 I miss meeting the teammates and interacting with them professionally and personally actually in person.
🅣 I really miss the canteen! And, as cliché as it sounds, I miss the people and our tea and coffee catch-ups.
🅓 I miss the random catch-ups with people from other parts of the team. For example, getting to have the random lunch or coffee chat with the developers.
🅘 I miss the canteen 🙁, and my morning commute. I have a nice walk along the Akerselva river, which helps clear my mind before a day of work.
🅢 Kenneth’s dog, Rocky.
What tips or advice do you have for others working remotely?
🅕 Working remotely can be really challenging and isolating — take time every day to check in with a colleague and to step outside, even if it’s just for a few minutes. If this time has taught us anything, having to shift to working remotely can happen at a moment’s notice, so it’s important to make sure you have #WFHessentials on-hand just in case. Here are the ones that have helped me:
- Ikea Fjällberget adjustable chair
- Sony MDR-1000X Noise Cancelling Headphones
- Ikea + Sonos Symfonisk Speakers
- BGM café music on Spotify
- AeroPress coffee maker
- Ikea Bräda laptop stand
- Succulents and Sunshine on YouTube
🅡 Irrespective of any pros or cons, it is of utmost importance to stay strong, and stay and work from home willfully. Try mixing up different activities at home to fight the mental frustration felt due to staying at home. Interact online with people, and utilize the time and energy to build new skills.
🅣 Although some tips for working from home are really helpful, I think there’s no right or wrong as everyone works differently. Some might find it better to have a strict routine, some might find it better to be more flexible — it really depends! I think communication with colleagues is key. Working remotely, a lot of communication is based over written texts rather than in person — so it’s important to keep communication and clarity in mind.
🅓 I have started to see a few opinions crop up saying that office space may not be essential after this period (not within our company, I hasten to add). I think the perspective is missing the point that for a lot of people the colleagues they are working with now they have spent the time getting to know through the office environment, before this period of working from home. It would be really hard to build and maintain a company culture if we hadn’t all met in person before. However, even though I think this period has shown that we can do as much work, if not more when working from home, I still feel that for some people (not within our company), there is still a stigma attached to working from home. I hope this period may have started to change the point of view of some managers and leaders that working from the office is not the only way to deliver results.
🅘 I guess my recommendation to myself is — get less lazy at cooking.
🅢 I don’t have much advice. All I can say is that remote work is the best for me.
So there you have it, straight from our colleagues themselves! It’s clear that working from home is not the same as working from an office, but in many ways, it has worked out well for our team.
Most of our employees mentioned a positive effect such as having fewer distractions and interruptions, as well as more flexibility, for example, to not have to work around the canteen’s opening hours. Some of the cons mentioned were not knowing when you’re interrupting someone, so communication has definitely been one of the biggest challenges. Some additional cons have been not being able to see colleagues, missing our office dogs, an increase in snacking, and not having the canteen. And how could you not — our canteen and office pups are awesome! When it comes to the tools that have helped us: Slack, Zoom, and JIRA have been clear winners across the board.
From a company culture perspective, working remotely has demonstrated the significance and impact of having a strong company culture. Fortunately, there are many creative ways to keep it alive such as maintaining virtual standups, coffee chats, quizzes, and Friday beers have all contributed to maintaining and, to some extent, strengthening our company culture. Having a strong company culture in place before changing to remote working has also helped support the transition.
What is clear from our experience is that in order to maintain your company culture while working remotely, it is more important than ever to keep in close communication with your colleagues and to maintain and support social interaction through both work and social activities. While it’s hard to know how long this particular phase of remote work will go on, it’s good to know that we can be and build resilience in our company to support it.
We want to hear from you!
Let us know in the comments below how working remotely has been for you and how has it affected your company’s culture?
Where to next?
