Work Life Balance is More than a Hashtag

Work-life balance in remote work is not something you find, it's something you create together with your team members.

For BDD, unlike millions of other companies, there was no sudden switch to remote work. Our whole company culture was built on that from the beginning. When you have a remote-only approach to work, work-life balance becomes the prerequisite.

So, as I became a grandpa this week, I took some time off to reflect on what work-life balance really means for me and BDD.

Work Life Balance in a Remote Work Setup

In the first months of the pandemic, as more and more companies switched to remote work, there were concerns regarding workflows or maintaining employee productivity. In a?remote-only company, such concerns do not exist . When you work with a remote professional, you know that they are at their most productive when working in their preferred environment. So, you don't ask questions.

However, what you should be asking questions about is work-life balance. It's not the "where". It's the "how". "How are you?", "How's your life lately?"

You see, when you work 4-6-8 hours a day with a person they become part of your life, your extended family. So, when you catch your colleague sending an e-mail at 10 p.m., and you know they've also been working the whole day, you ask "how they're doing".

If there's something I've learned from working remotely for so many years is that work can become addictive. The professional and personal life boundaries become blurry, and you lose balance.

This is why I have one-to-ones with all our team members. We check on each other, joke around, and discuss the company's vision or new ideas that might come on the spot. This is how I make sure all the people in my team enjoy not only work, but also their life, family, friends or hobbies.

Why You Should Care About Your Remote Employee's Mental Health

When working with remote teams from all over the globe, there's this pressure of always being online. Some people are online late in the evening; others are online early in the morning. Some hours overlap; others don't.

So, you might lose your work-life balance trying to accommodate all of these.

However, we at BDD have an effective workflow in place that takes into account all these time differences. It helps us keep balanced and work healthy hours. It is crucial.

What does a typical day look like for a remote employee?

Well, we maintain regular hours. We have our routine of getting to work, and flexibility is a big part of our lives. However, we do have a clear workflow in place, which means we need to attend specific Zoom meetings at certain times. That offers a bit of stability. Routines are also important. They're not necessarily the opposite of flexibility.

A remote employee schedules his own breaks. We give ourselves enough break time during the day. Taking some time off the computer and phone screen is essential for keeping motivation and productivity levels up.

BDD remote employees don't hesitate to ask for what they need. Whether it's a vacation, a longer break, a new software, or some advice, we share it with everybody in our internal Slack channels. It really is a family!

A remote employee socialises with his colleagues. I know that there is this perception that loneliness, disconnect and isolation follow a remote worker everywhere like a black cloud. But that's not true. We have established a friendly and laid-back company culture where we share our thoughts, personal milestones, and ideas, make jokes and connect daily.

Therefore, a day in the life of a remote employee is a combination of work, fun, and family, just like the day in the life of an office employee. The difference is in the scheduling. You make your own schedule.

What are the mistakes of remote team leaders?

When you work remotely, you don't have teammates disturbing you every 10 minutes with their questions. This is a huge productivity boost. According to?research , it can take us as much as 23 minutes to get back into our workflow after someone asks us a few questions.

However, what you can have is team leaders who didn't hear of the phrase "this meeting could have been an email". I think the trap that most remote team leaders fell into was over Zooming. I feel more thinking should go into which meetings are essential and which are just a waste of time.

We at BDD don't really have spontaneous meetings. All our Zooms are scheduled and planned in advance, so all the team members know when it's focus time and meeting time.

Remote work is not easy. It comes with its own set of challenges and opportunities.

The fear of job loss is greater for remote workers. Unfortunately, it can make its way into your personal life, relationships, happiness and overall health. This is why it's essential to constantly reassure your remote workers that they are doing a great job and give them a virtual pat on the back now and then. It works wonders for their confidence and also mental health, and balance.

Should remote work be more common?

Well, remote work is not for everybody.

What I would like to point out here is that remote work is different from work-from-home. Work-from-home usually comes with a fixed schedule. I dare say that, unlike remote work, work-from-home invades the private life of the employee. Team leaders and managers working from home temporarily still can't shake that office feeling off.

So, should remote work be more common? I think it makes more sense to ask yourself: "What do I want?" and act on that. For us at BDD , remote work is the thing to do. But we're all different beings, folks!