I am writing this from my native home in Italy. I came here from my adopted home in Portugal for two months to visit family and friends and regain a bit of sanity after months of lockdown. In a normal year, at this point of summer, very few people in this part of the world … Continue reading A People Ops Field Guide to Disconnecting
Five years on since I transitioned to People Ops, here is what I have learned about navigating People Ops in remote companies and making sure people are their best at work.
I have dealt with a fair share of uncomfortable moments throughout my career. I once had to lay off quite a few people due to circumstances outside of my control. It felt awful. But once I closed my computer and looked through the window, I could still see an ordinary world outside. My children were with friends; my parents weren't locked in their house for days on end; I could meet a friend for a drink or have dinner in a restaurant with my partner. Even though I had done what's arguably one of the toughest things a People Ops leader individual has to do, I could heal through the sense of normalcy around me. We have lost all that now so how do we cope?
For most companies, going partially or fully remote is a conscious choice. They either start remote from the very beginning or make a transition that allows them to refigure how they work when not everyone is sharing the same office. As I write this, having just joined Boundless, governments around the world are urging companies to adopt this model of working due to the COVID-19 outbreak. Here is how to make remote work for you.
