Collaboration, culture, and avoiding burnout with a remote team
Ever since the internet began allowing people to collaborate from all over the globe, companies have been skeptical of remote work. Just because it’s possible doesn’t mean it always works — it’s hard to replicate the dynamics of a thriving company culture from afar, or to replace the ease of dropping by a co-worker’s desk to ask a question. And without a singular clock that tells everyone when to clock in and when to clock out, some employees may find their work bleeding into their personal life, leaving them exhausted and burned out.
These are all factors we considered when making the jump to Virtual First, our strategy in which remote work is the primary experience for every Dropboxer. We implemented “async by default,” which encourages employees to find other ways to solve simple problems instead of reflexively scheduling meetings that can quickly bloat calendars and make work feel impossible. We developed Core Collaboration Hours, company-wide blocks of time designated for synchronous (or real-time) collaborative work based on the time zones in which Dropboxers live. And with the creation of volunteer Dropboxer-led Vibe Committees, we’re keeping a constant pulse on how people are feeling and creating ways for them to experience the same levels of connection and community that they did in our offices.
But the real work has come from our own Dropboxers, who are experts at designing new ways to work more efficiently, make the most of their out-of-office time, and protect our culture together. We chatted with Senior Product Designer Jennifer Spriggs and Senior Director of Engineering Ross Comer to get their top tips on how to do it all in Virtual First.
How has the art of collaboration developed for you in Virtual First? Anything special you’ve done to be successful in this arena?
Jennifer: Oh man — this really is an art. I’ve experimented with a few new collaboration techniques in the Virtual First era, and have settled on a few methods I really find to be fantastically effective. My favorite new method is the asynchronous design review process I have developed. At Dropbox we’re #blessed with great tools that make collaboration a lot easier. For this process I use Figma, our design tool, to mock up a project, and Dropbox’s Capture tool to record the design review presentation. Figma has a great feature that allows you to embed links into your art boards, which is how I embed those Capture videos into the canvas. With this method all of the artifacts of a typical design review — the presentation, the mockups, the discussion — are all wrapped into a tidy package able to be viewed asynchronously by anyone, from anywhere, at any time. This is hugely powerful when you have teammates who work across different time zones. It has felt like an improvement over the old synchronous process in that, with the Figma commenting feature, all of the questions and discussion about the design is self-documenting. In the old times I had to present my work while also furiously jotting down notes from the following discussion, taking great pains to make sure I wasn’t missing anything. It’s been a real revelation.
Ross: Really embracing asynchronous work, allowing everyone to contribute without everyone getting together at the same time, has helped reduce meetings (to some extent) and therefore lower “Zoom burnout.” This is as simple as identifying places where a document can be updated and reviewed by the key stakeholders at their convenience rather than forcing everyone to meet. Reviewers can comment on the document and tweak it until it is closed. This isn’t always an option, but when it is, it can be really freeing as you get work done on your own schedule.
Grace: I try to encourage my project teams to do more async and only use meetings for collaborations after reviewing pre-reads beforehand. Dropbox Paper docs and Jira are the go-to tools for that, along with Dropbox Capture. In addition, recording a short 1–2 minute video with screen flow is the next best thing to two-way communications to overcome time zone challenges when meetings are not possible. To avoid zoom fatigue, I also encourage teams to be off camera for afternoon meetings.
How do you avoid burnout in Virtual First? What would you recommend others try?
Jennifer: Screen fatigue is very real, and after some long days at the computer I have to log off. I really try to imbue my day with with moments of nature-related zen — even if this is simply taking a walk around my neighborhood in Seattle to look at my neighbors’ flower gardens. On the weekends I usually attempt to disconnect entirely — sometimes outside of the range of connectivity at all. This summer I’ve gotten really into hiking in the Cascade and Olympic Mountains. I also enjoy going on long, meandering bike tours around Washington, which is a great way to disconnect. Just last weekend I did a tour of San Juan Island, which was a great reset.
Ross: In a Virtual First setting, you miss out on those easy distractions and random encounters that break up a normal day in the office. It’s too easy to jump from Zoom to Zoom and dive head-first into the your own never-ending work. Finding ways to take those short breaks has been really important to me. While I’ll block out “Get Work Done” breaks, I’ll also block out “Zoom Break” where I can get away from “the office”: get up, walk around, get a snack, read a chapter of a book, text/call a friend, etc.
Grace: To produce at your peak level you need to work for extended periods with full concentration on a single task, free from distraction, and it’s equally important to find a way to channel out the stress afterwards. Embracing nature has been the best therapy for me. I love landscape photography because it forces me to focus on beautiful corners around me. This is my album. Photography has helped to put things into perspectives for me. For example: (1) You need to still be able to say “Holy smokes, what a ride!” when you don’t get the picture you want. (2) Sometimes you win, sometimes you… learn. (3) Sometimes you must give up the good scenery, in order to get to the GREAT ones. (4) It’s impossible to have rainbows without the rain; the most dramatic sky often comes with storms.
How do you see Dropbox continuing to cultivate and protect our culture in Virtual First? How do you see yourself playing a part in this, if any?
Ross: I am the “Vibe Ambassador” for the Northwest Region of the U.S., or what was previously known as the Seattle Site Lead. I work with a group of employees, the Northwest Vibe Committee, who are passionate about making Dropbox a fun place to work. We put on a variety of events that will be appealing across the entire Dropbox population; while they have been virtual events for now, we have some great ideas for casual gatherings at our new Seattle Studio and beyond. We also have fun traditions such as Northwest Introductions where we tag a few employees in Slack each week and encourage them to tell something about themselves (only if they wish to). This has been a great way to learn about our nearby employees, find common interests, and build the sorts of connections that would normally be found in a physical office.
Jennifer: There are a lot of great ways folks are maintaining our culture in the new Virtual First world. We still continue to have zoom “off-sites” where our team will get together virtually and do some kind of activity. I just participated in a really fun and relaxing session where each teammate was able to choose a Lego set to build. Everyone hung out and casually chatted while putting together their Lego pieces, which felt much lower-pressure than doing something like an escape room together. I really enjoy using our gratitude tool, which allows me to send a quick, very delightfully illustrated digital card to co-workers who have helped me in a pinch. It’s a great way to boost morale and do something nice that is very much Virtual First.
Grace: It’s important that cross-functional project team members feel like they are treated with trust and respect, and that what they do matters. I feel grateful that Dropbox places employee wellbeing at the forefront. Our team also has held virtual cooking classes and virtual games to bring everyone together. Maintaining our culture is up to everyone, not just the leadership team.
Interested in learning more about Dropboxers are learning to thrive in Virtual First? Check out our toolkit!
