BY USE CASE
Secure Distributed Work
Boost Productivity
BY INDUSTRY
Workers want more. From intuitive digital tools to dynamic company culture, today's employees are attracted to companies that do more than feed their bank accounts.
ARTICLE | 4m read
June 29, 2020
Even as a pandemic upends what it means to be “at work,” organizations have a critical role to play in shaping a stellar workplace experience.
So, where to start?
We talked to five industry leaders to learn helpful tips and insights. In conjunction with Quartz, we also unearthed thought-provoking data that—at a moment when the very idea of a centralized workplace is being rethought—can help light a path through a disorienting time.
Jason Fried, CEO, Basecamp
Basecamp offers employees unlimited work-from-home, a capped 40-hour work week, a four-day summer work week and a 30-day sabbatical every three years. Crazy—or crazy effective? Nearly 60% of Basecamp employees have been there at least four years. What happens when you allow employees more time and mental space away from work?
WE DON’T DO CATERED DINNERS AND WE DON'T WANT A FANCY CAMPUS. THOSE ARE CREATED TO KEEP YOU AT WORK… A REAL BENEFIT GETS YOU AWAY FROM WORK.
Jason Fried
CEO
Basecamp
1.2
Number of uninterrupted productive working hours
Dr. Tara Swart, neuroscientist and Sloan lecturer, M.I.T.
All business leaders want a creative, engaged workforce. Research shows that the most creative companies tend to also be the most financially successful. It turns out that mindfulness—the practice of overcoming distraction—can be a key to unlocking creativity.
Alex Le , VP of Product and Community, Reddit
The workplace has been virtualized. The break room is now a chat room. In a largely distributed and digital workforce, how should leaders approach implementing top-down initiatives?
Tips:
IF YOUR COMPANY HAS AN INTERNAL CHAMPION WHO WANTED TO SHAPE COMPANY CULTURE—AND THAT CHAMPION IS EMPOWERED TO BE THE FACE OF THAT CHANGE, TO DELIVER THE MESSAGE, AND TO FIND A WAY TO MAKE IT HAPPEN—THEN IT IS MUCH MORE LIKELY TO SUCCEED
Alex Le
VP of Product and Community
Reddit
Benjamin Pardo, Design Director, Knoll
In the 1990s, hoping that a loosely unstructured, airy layout would spark collaboration and serendipity, a few Silicon Valley companies introduced open office arrangements. The concept didn’t take. This cautionary tale is especially relevant as organizations consider how—or even if—to head back to the office.
IN ANY SORT OF STATIC LAYOUT, YOU HAVE PRIVACY TRADEOFFS. TOO MUCH. TOO LITTLE. THE OFFICE SPACE SHOULD BE A CONTINUUM OF VARIOUS ENVIRONMENTS THAT GIVE THE INDIVIDUAL OPTIMALITY, SO THAT CAN MAXIMIZE THEIR CAPABILITY TO GET WORK DONE.
Benjamin Pardo
Design Director
Knoll
Aaron Ignan, Founder, The Ready
If nothing else, the past 140 years of innovation have shown that technology helped create countless more jobs than it destroyed. That’s not to say workforces shouldn’t evolve as tech advances. That’s why employers currently investing in upskilling their workers will always be ahead of the curve.