Embracing Change: Reflections on my Experience with Remote Work

Written by

Emily Madden

Everyday we are tasked with making decisions that consider the needs of our teams, our organizational culture, and our business objectives.  

In today’s ever-evolving work environment, this can mean balancing the benefits of remote work with the desire for in-person collaboration and fostering a vibrant office culture.   Here are my reflections on the impact of remote work at Magnet, based on my own experiences and the results of our latest “pulse” survey, which we conduct regularly to gauge the temperature at Magnet and gather insights from our teams. 

The Positive Impact of Remote Work:

According to our most recent survey, and an impressive 96% overall survey completion rate (woo woo!),  it is evident that remote work has been well-received by our teams. 

The survey highlighted common themes among respondents, including an appreciation for the ability to work remotely, which promotes a healthy work-life balance and supports mental health. 

Further, an overwhelming 93% of respondents stated that they can easily collaborate remotely using the suite of digital tools Magnet offers, including Slack, Wrike, Salesforce, Zoom, and Google Workspace. This statistic underscores the effectiveness of a digital infrastructure to support and facilitate seamless collaboration and communication.

Striking the Right Balance:

We also understand the significance of maintaining a healthy balance between remote work and in-person collaboration for things like brainstorming sessions, working groups and special projects.  

While providing flexibility and technology tools for remote work, we also place a strong emphasis on creating an engaging and encouraging office space. Our dedicated team promotes diversity, equity, and inclusion activities, as well as plans and organizes a wide range of social activities and regular events such as trivia nights, holiday parties, summer socials, group lunches, and even field trips. 

These initiatives foster a sense of community, enhance team bonding.

Recognizing Counter-arguments and Embracing Change:

We must acknowledge that remote work does have its challenges and detractors. We can’t deny the concerns about remote work’s potential impact on culture and the vibrancy of physical office spaces, and the store-fronts and businesses that support the broader office communities. These concerns are valid and need to be considered when designing remote work policies. 

However, in our ever-changing modern world, flexibility is increasingly valued by our global talent force who want to tailor their work environments to their unique needs and circumstances. 

I know for me personally, I enjoy being in the office and I can be found there most days interacting with my team. I also know the world is changing faster than ever before, and it is our responsibility to adapt and create an environment that offers both flexibility and opportunities for in-person engagement.

My Practical View on Magnet’s Success in this Balance:

1. We Encourage our Teams to Set Clear Boundaries: We’ve all heard the benefits of establishing a dedicated workspace at home, and to create a daily routine that emulates our office routine. In hybrid environments this is even more critical as some people are physically in the office and some are home.  Boundaries underpin everything from scheduling and administration to empathy and respect for our colleagues.
2. We Prioritize Communication and Collaboration: I always attribute our ability to quickly pivot to remote work to our excellent culture of leveraging digital tools. We were good at this before remote, we were good at this in remote, we are good at this post remote in a hybrid model. Seamless communication and collaboration with our teams is the number one productivity tool we have.  
3. We Work to Foster In-person Engagement: We absolutely embrace remote work, but we also recognize the value of in-person interactions. We encourage in-person brainstorming sessions, working groups, and special projects. We have a dedicated plan to host in-person events, we make it fun, we blow off some steam and we foster a sense of camaraderie and strengthen team bonds.

I believe flexibility and adaptability are critical to success, and in my assessment remote work has opened doors to new possibilities, empowering individuals to achieve a harmonious blend of lifestyle, mental health and a new way to look at “work/life”.   

I celebrate this evolution.