Julia Cummings, a Los Angeles-based remote worker for a software start-up, said that in her job, she has access to nearly anything she might need. She can check her company’s financial performance, see co-workers’ salaries and view shared notes from all meetings — even ones she didn’t attend. She gets reimbursed for unlimited books and receives a $1,000 annual stipend for development. The company’s required minimum vacation policy of 15 days in addition to time off for mental health helps her avoid burnout. She has a “role buddy,” who helped her navigate her position, and a buddy to keep her connected to the company culture. And her employer, Buffer, regularly welcomes worker discussions about what’s happening outside of work.
Cummings is one of the many workers employed by companies that have been fully remote since inception. While many companies transitioned to hybrid work, about 36.5 million people in the United States worked remotely at least five days a week as of early August, according to the Census Bureau’s Household Pulse Survey. As leaders develop post-pandemic policies, one concern about remote work commonly surfaces: Can a company build and maintain culture if workers are remote?
Read more at the Washington Post.