“New employees are especially facing much lower productivity. Is this a reflection of our office policy? Are we not building tribal knowledge with new employees without an office culture?...Do managers focus enough time and energy on onboarding new employees and achieving productivity?”
"We're a fully remote business distributed across 30+ countries," says Sarah. "So if you are thinking of this [always-on culture] as a challenge, it sure is. It's top of mind for me on a daily basis, both personally as well as in my job leading the people team."
"We're just starting out. Like any small-scale company, you're going to be working a lot in this blend of a 24-hour work week. It's kind of what you have to do to get the job done," says Devin. "And so we set very core expectations."
"It's real, and it affects your health – not just turnover, churn, and retention," she adds. "Sure, people get burned out, but it's also genuinely impacting people's health."
"A lot of this comes down to leadership, where people on a team are taking signals and expectations from how their leaders are presenting and reaching out to them throughout the day," says Jason.
"Somehow [culture of performance] has become equated with perfection, and we see people wanting to be always on," she says. "There's a pull to demonstrate that they're being confident or really engaged in their work, or there's a fear of missing out on being part of a decision."
"A company needs to set expectations that it's not what's healthy," Sarah adds. "We [at Hopin] prioritize impact. It's not simply about being online or showing that you're online – it's actually about the work output."
Posted Jun 15, 2023
Part of a series of articles recapping sessions from the Worklife Summit.
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