Maintaining work/life balance while working from home . . .

is like walking a tightrope on a windy day.

Remember just over a year ago when you had a commute? Car, bus, train, bike. Now most of are used to commuting from the bedroom to the office (which may be one and the same!)

Working from home brings a lot of freedom, but it can also feel like you never really leave work. It's easy to use the time you'd normally be free (evenings and weekends) to do a quick scan of your inbox or take a peek at Slack. Suddenly, you're sucked in and working 12-15 hour days.

Like many other companies, Hologram is grappling with the benefits and challenges of remote work – and we're putting some guardrails in place to support the health of our team. Balance is a fickle thing and may look different for each employee, so we built in extra flexibility, too. Here are some of unique ways we work:‍

Flexible, asynchronous work style — With our distributed team, we don't expect folks to be online at all hours. Yes, we have meetings during regular "9-5" hours, but we work asynchronously as much as possible. Many on our team have a lot of other daily priorities beyond work, so we block our calendars ardently. Real life happens, especially when you work from home. When you you need to see the doctor, chat with your plumber, pick your kid up from school, or even grab some exercise or meditation time we believe you should have the time and space to do so.‍

Unlimited time off — Encouraging our team to take the time they need away from work has been critical. Our unlimited time off policy includes vacation/personal time as well as sick time. We also offer a mental health day every month—time built in to see your counselor, get a massage, attend your favorite yoga class, etc. Taking care of yourself and your family are top priorities for Hologram. We want our team to feel restored by their time off—instead of guilty for being out.‍

Focus Fridays — A recent experiment for us has been Focus Fridays. It's a meeting-free, Zoom-free day of focus work on Fridays. The more we give space to wind down the week on a Friday, the more likely it is that the team will have a restful, work-free weekend. And if you're so focused you're able to knock off early? Great!‍

Home office setup funds — We offer a $1,500 budget for each employee to make their home workspace functional and comfortable. When your desk chair isn't also where you sit for supper and your desk isn't also your coffee table, it's a little easier to draw some work/life boundaries.

Building out these policies and resources has been critical to the health of our team. At the heart of it all is a company culture that motivates us to show up for one another and take care of each other — and ourselves. We don't want to just allow time off but instead actively encourage it.

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