Remote Working Playbook

Self Care

It's important to start with caring for yourself, as everything else will break down if it's not built on top of a strong foundation. If you are crouching in your bed with your laptop in your lap, you are likely to encounter neck and spinal pain issues in short order. Step one is investing some time and money into in an ergonomic home office set up.

Ergonomics

The chart below shows an ideal ergonomic work set up.

If you have a table and chair, sit at it. If you have a laptop, you should have:

A laptop stand which raises the height of the screen to 2 inches above the height of your eyes.

An external keyboard.

An external mouse.

There are other accoutrements that will enhance your life, but these are the bare minimum.

For a list of the gear we recommend, see:

⚙Gear Recommendations

Mind and body

It's important to be mindful and to exercise your body so that you stay sane and healthy. For more on that, see the article from our blog, Self Care in the Age of Solitude.

Work Etiquette

Rapid Feedback

As a remote first shop, it's important that we are highly responsive to our clients during work hours to create a sense of tele-presence. For this communication, it's important to choose the right medium for communication. Engineers should strive to be in a stable, quiet environment, with access to all communication styles during times when they are working. Be verbal about when you are leaving your computer, and post normal working hours so others know during which hours they can reasonably expect a response.

Don't Be Shy

Having fun together

As an organization we place the value of our interpersonal relationships above work output. We see ourselves more as a family or a little town, not as one other's babysitters or scorekeepers.

It's important to consciously recognize that communication has two functions:

To communicate information necessary for collaborative problem solving.

To establish human connection.

As a result, we default to video on when we are on a call. This is a habit, not a rule, but having this be the general habit helps create a sense of presence and inter-connection.

We've found that tele-conferencing, combined with an appropriate relaxation of the normal rules of decor can feel help us have fun together and feel connected. When we do that, we enjoy taking on challenges together and it shows in our work. We make time for a video conference call where we allow ourselves to joke around once a week, talk about how we're feeling, what we've learned, show and tell, shoot the breeze.

Getting things done

Be sensitive to the effects of context switching on people's ability to be productive and don't keep asking for video calls or direct messaging someone on Slack if what you are working on can be done asynchronously, or if they are clearly in middle of something. Similarly, feel free to tune out chatter on Slack, or employ Do Not Disturb if you are in the middle of a complicated task that would benefit from sustained attention.

How To Communicate When

Name	Strengths	Weaknesses	When to Use
Slack	Minimizes Switching Costs, Quick, Persistent, Precise.	Slower Feedback, Difficult to read tone.	Best for most communication.
Video	Human connection, fast feedback, quickly creates dimensional understanding of problems.	Can create switching cost, reduce developer productivity if over-used.	When complex and rapid visual communication is needed, i.e. a project off the ground from zero, or when human connection is required, i.e. retrospectives.
Email	Lends itself to deep exploration of topic, easily forwarded between agencies, provides local record of communication, does not incur switching costs.	Slow, can get very complex very quickly.	Communication outside of the department, "official" communication.

Clear Boundaries

At one point it was considered acceptable to answer your cell phone at the dinner table. Etiquette has evolved as humans have developed a more nuanced relationship with technology, and this is now considered rude. Similarly, it's important to set clear boundaries between when you are working and when you are not working. Set up a document somewhere with your co-workers that states the hours that you will routinely be working, and try to be disciplined about sticking to these bounds and communicating openly when you stray from them. Foster an environment of understanding, and honesty will be prized.