Remotivated

We’re growing at Hi Rasmus! ??? I feel so lucky ?? to be part of a company that truly puts people first—both the families we serve and the incredible team making it all happen. If you’re looking for a place where your work has a real impact, your voice is valued, and you’re trusted to do your best work in a way that works for you, we’d love to have you on this journey with us! ?? We have several open roles across Sales (Macy P. & Rachel Dowse), Product (Jill Umstattd, MS, BCBA), and Engineering (Mark Rosenvinge)—take a look and see if one feels like the right fit. Or, if you know someone who’d thrive in a mission-driven, flexible, and supportive workplace, send them our way! ?? #PeopleFirst #Hiring #RemoteWork #HiRasmus #JoinUs

?? It's Employee Appreciation Day TODAY and no, you can't just ask your team to appreciate each other! Gratitude cannot be delegated. If you're a leader who hasn't planned anything yet, don't panic. Here are three things you can do right now that actually matter: 1?? Send a personalized voice note or video to each team member highlighting a specific contribution they've made (not a mass email). 2?? Send a digital gift card for something that shows that you listen. It doesn't have to be different for every person (although it could be) but should show some thought. 3?? Announce an unexpected half-day or extended weekend sometime in March. If that creates coverage issues, have your leadership team fill in! Remember: This isn't something you can delegate or turn into a "let's all appreciate each other" exercise. Today is about LEADERS showing genuine appreciation for their teams. You should have a culture of appreciation and it should flow in every direction but worry about that tomorrow. If you're still not sold, just imagine the reaction you'd get on Mother's Day if instead of doing something for your mom, you encouraged her to celebrate other Moms... yeah, same thing here. Your employee appreciation strategy is an important part of your brand strategy. Those appreciation moments (or lack thereof) end up on LinkedIn, Glassdoor, and in conversations with potential customers. I've already seen posts on social sharing appreciation initiatives that range from completely cringe to absolutely amazing. Make sure you're in the right group! What's the most meaningful way a leader has shown you appreciation? ??

?? Building a Humanized & Just Future of Work Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) has sparked both necessary change and intense debate in workplaces worldwide. As conversations grow more polarized, many leaders are left wondering: ?? How do we uphold fairness, respect, and merit—without getting caught in ideological battles? At The Future of Work Alliance, we believe in action over rhetoric and clarity over contention. ?? Driven by a deep bias toward action, we transform on-the-ground learnings from around the world into practical insights that inform workplace policy and decision-making—creating a more humanized, resilient, and just Future of Work. That’s why we’re launching [Building a Humanized & Just Future of Work. DEI Reimagined], not as a collection of statistics or case studies to prove a point, but as a new way to think about inclusion, merit, and workplace success. ?? How DEI became a polarizing conversation—and what that means for business ?? How organizations can foster fairness, inclusion, and merit—without getting caught in political crossfire ?? A fresh mental framework for leaders to navigate DEI with clarity and confidence ?? We're considering hosting a live conversation on this topic! If a webinar or discussion on these themes would be valuable to you, drop a ?? in the comments or DM us here. Your input will help shape the format and focus of the session. ?? In the meantime, grab your copy of the full paper at the link in comments. #FutureOfWork #WorkplaceInnovation #Leadership #ModernWork #DEIReimagined #FutureOfWorkAlliance

? Employee Appreciation Day is just 2 weeks away (Friday, March 7, 2025)! Do you already know what you're doing for your team? The best companies know something others don't: Employee appreciation isn't about the gesture – it's about the impact. And in a distributed world, that impact needs to resonate across time zones, cultures, and digital spaces. We've compiled 15 ideas (Link to full article in comments ??) that actually make remote workers feel valued including: ?? Home office makeovers ?? Impact story projects ??? Local adventure days ?? Digital yearbooks TLDR: Don't be performative. The ideas we're sharing here are inspirational and some may be more than your team has the bandwidth or budget for. That's okay! In the article we also go over the "why" and the key is being thoughtful. A mass email from the CEO or a bit of cheap conference swag is just checking a box. That's exactly what most companies do.... which makes your company stand out even more when you get it right. It's not just about kindness, it's about engagement and your employer brand. What's the most meaningful way an employer has shown appreciation for you? ??

?? Traditional work travel is broken: - Employees dread it - Companies overpay - Hotels pocket the difference But what if there was a way to make work travel fun AND profitable for both host and guest, while saving companies money? That's exactly what Roamr is doing, and it's absolutely brilliant in its simplicity. Roamr launched on Product Hunt today. As you probably know, PH is all about momentum and Roamr is in serious contention for the top spot today! If you want to support an awesome remote team that helps other remote teams, please head over to Producthunt and give Roamr an upvote and leave a supportive comment. Of course if you travel for work at all, be sure to check out their website and sign up as well. They even post the actual TESTED internet speed at each property. I'm telling you, they thought of everything!

Did you catch our Super Bowl ad yesterday? If not, don't bother looking it up. Just be suitably impressed and move on with your day.

Flexibility is the easiest lever to pull to attract top talent. The other benefits are significant (and numerous!) but being the most flexible employer in your industry gives you a talent advantage that cannot be bought.

?? New Research Challenges "Water Cooler" Myth We sat down with Dr. Beth Schinoff, one of the authors of the fascinating study to discuss the implications for remote teams. Key findings that caught our attention: -Those "unprofessional" moments of kids or pets popping into video calls? They actually strengthen workplace bonds -Remote teams often develop deeper connections because they see authentic glimpses of colleagues' lives -The key isn't proximity - it's authenticity Perhaps most compelling: The study found that even learning something "unflattering" about a coworker strengthened relationships by humanizing them. Turns out being real beats being perfect! The next time someone claims "you can't build culture remotely," share this research. Culture isn't about location - it's about creating intentional spaces for authentic connection.

This holiday season, instead of running your business like a family, run your family like a business. Don't just give presents, give severance packages! ?? Other helpful ways to run your family like a business: -Send a detailed agenda then fly into a rage when no one reads it -Use performance-based gifting to incentivize better behavior next year -No tech support for Grandma unless she puts in a ticket -Always ask if everyone can see what you're sharing even though you know they can -Break-out rooms for political discussions -If someone asks you a question just say "let's take this offline" but then never speak of it again -Let any dads A/B test their jokes ahead of time -Hard stop at 9pm When you get home, don't forget to let everyone know that this all could've been an email. What did I miss?

There are plenty of ways to reduce waste in the Federal government; 5 days a week return-to-office isn't one of them. The drive by Elon and crew at DOGE isn't about efficiency. Greater efficiency would come from having more #telework, not less. They'll talk about a lack of performance, when the shift to telework and flexible work has driven performance improvements: Congressional testimony showed #hybrid work drove up productivity 6.2% at the Social Security Administration. GSA reports show that expansion of #hybrid and #remote drove improvements at agencies like the VA, IRS and Social Security. Gains that will be lost. There are broad gains from the drive to assess workers on their performance regardless of where they sit. It's not like in-office workers never slack off... We also know #RTO drives top talent to leave. People like tech talent needed to modernize and drive efficiency, cybersecurity experts to keep us safe. Assuming constituents complain, and they will about wait times and problems processing claims, there's the cost of replacing workers: generally ~50-100% of their annual pay. Plus the cost to upgrade offices to handle them, vs GSA's estimate that they could save $1b by shedding excess real estate. So it will likely cost us more, not less. On time spent in offices today, Elon's numbers are wrong. They say 1% of Fed workers are in the office, when 50% have to be there every day, and ~40% are there 3 days a week according to Office of Management and Budget. The Federal workforce, which has been flat since the 1950s, is 1.8% of the Federal budget. 70% of them are civilian military or security. Take that off the table, along with the 50% who are in full time and the "target" is clearly small. We'd be better off as taxpayers and constituents focusing on performance, on more telework not less -- putting more Federal workers in communities closer to constituents, supporting more veterans and military spouses. None of this is new to people on the Hill who've been debating it for years. Maybe it's all new to Elon, but maybe it's not about saving money. Maybe it's just about demonizing public servants. ?? For more, please check out my MIT Sloan Management Review interview, linked in comments. FYI for Dan Smolen, Mika Cross, Dr. Gleb Tsipursky, Dan Bladen, Mark Ma, Nick Bloom, Sarah Fortinsky, John Gavin, Drew Friedman, Jason Miller, Erich Wagner, Sean Michael Newhouse, Betsy Cooper, Kevin Carter and Jason Briefel Thank you Abbie Lundberg, Leslie Brokaw, Shawn Read and Laurianne McLaughlin for the interview and support! #Federal #PublicSector #DOGE #ReturnToWork #HybridWork #RemoteWork #WFH