<commit_before>---
layout: page
section: how
categories:
tags:
title: Distributed working
---

Distributed working can be empowering, productive, and fulfilling. It can also be difficult and frustrating.

Here are some aspects of distributed working we've struggled with and some ideas we've come up with to help.

## Remote challenges

* [Low visibility](#{{ "Low visibility" | slugify }})
* [Camaraderie](#{{ "Camaraderie" | slugify }}) (or lack of)
* [Virtual meetings](#{{ "Virtual meetings" | slugify }})
* [A high quality work environment](#{{ "A high quality work environment" | slugify }})
* [Timezones](#{{ "Timezones" | slugify }})

## Low visibility

### Challenges

When you're in an office together it's easier to tell if someone is in a bad mood or if someone is struggling with something. **Assume your co-workers don't know your stressed, tired, or upset unless you tell them.**

## Recommendations

* **Work out loud.**
* Use the Hipchat status update commands to show what you are working on.
* Be assertive. **Say how you feel.** Don't be subtle with your feelings.


## Camaraderie

### Challenges

It's difficult to bond with your team when you don't have a chance to get to know each other. We have to make an intentional effort to develop this.

> One of the hardest things about working remotely is the lack of human contact to provide a moral boost during the difficult periods.

— <NAME>, Ghost

### Recommendations

* Arrange informal hangouts that have nothing to do with work.
* Get together when you can. Celebrate milestones in projects, or arrange a camp around a common objective.
* Remember that each country has cultural differences, spend time learning about these.
* Find apps to share a hobbies or interests online. We have groups on MapMyRun and Good Reads.
* Make effort to ask deeper questions to your co-workers like “What's going well? What are you proud of this week?” and “What challenges are you facing? Where are you stuck?”
* Try asking open questions that start with how, when, and why.
* If in doubt, ask [your buddy](/working-at-wunderkraut/buddies/having/)


## Virtual meetings

### Challenges

Virtual meetings can be tricky and frustrating due to audio or bandwidth issues. Delays can make conversation awkward and time consuming.

It's difficult to maintain equality between all participants if some participants are face-to-face and some are virtual.

### Recommendations

* Ensure your internet is fast and reliable. Use wired internet where available. [See Google hangout bandwidth recommendations](https://support.google.com/plus/answer/1216376?hl=en)
* Have a list of video conferencing apps you can fall back to if one isn't working.
* Make sure everyone can hear and see everyone who is speaking. This is problematic when hosting meetings from a client office. Consider a separate microphone and webcam to capture everyone in the room.
* Supply clients with dedicated hardware if their own systems are restricted.

## A high quality work environment

### Challenges

Having your own personal office is a huge advantage of remote working. You can personalise your working environment to suit you, instead of a one-size-fits-all environment.

On the other hand, brick-and-mortar offices have health and safety standards that ensure everyone has a good working environment. When everyone has their own office, they are all responsible for their own working conditions.

### Recommendations

* Assess your working environment. [How does it affect your posture?](http://apps.washingtonpost.com/g/page/national/the-health-hazards-of-sitting/750/)
* **Invest money in your chair and desk.** The benefits pay off.
* Everyone is different, don't feel like you need to use the same equipment as everyone else.
* For more information and ideas, see [Home Office Assessment](/working-at-wunderkraut/health-and-safety/work-comfortably/home-office-assessment/)
* For inspiration, see [This is What a Remote Office Looks Like](https://zapier.com/learn/the-ultimate-guide-to-remote-working/remote-office-photos/)

## Timezones

### Challenges

To help all team members feel equal, it's important to reduce the assumption of an “official” project timezone. Avoid requiring unusual working hours if possible.

### Recommendations

* Book meetings so no one has to work unusual hours. Use tools like [Every Time Zone,](http://everytimezone.com/) [Sundial,](https://sundial.teleport.org) or [Homeslice.](http://homeslice.in/)
* **Don't skimp on cheap hotels or flights** for team members who are visiting. It's better that they are alert and comfortable to make the most of your face-to-face time together.
* **Be clear about your working hours.** Say “Hi” and “Bye” when you sign in and out, so it's clear if you are working or not.
* Document everything to help your team unblock themselves so they don't have to rely on you being online.

## Recommended resources

* [Remotive newsletter](http://remotive.io/)
* [The comprehensive guide to remote working](http://blog.remotive.io/the-comprehensive-guide-to-remote-working/)
* [The ultimate guide to remote work](https://zapier.com/learn/the-ultimate-guide-to-remote-working/)
* [Coby Chapple - Remote by Default: How Github Makes Working Remotely Not Suck](https://vimeo.com/96692943)
* [Why Work Loneliness Isn’t Just a Personal Problem, and What to Do About It](http://blog.idonethis.com/why-work-loneliness-isnt-just-a-personal-problem/)
* [Keeping your remote team connected](http://www.helpscout.net/blog/remote-team-connectivity/)
* [12 remote workers reveal how to be happy, effective and valuable](http://wpcurve.com/remote-worker)
* [Hard-Earned Lessons From Building a Remote Culture](http://www.entrepreneur.com/article/245689)
* [The year without pants](http://scottberkun.com/yearwithoutpants/)
* [How Github works](http://zachholman.com/posts/how-github-works/)
* [How to run a remote team](https://zapier.com/learn/the-ultimate-guide-to-remote-working/how-manage-remote-team/)
* [Being a remote worker sucks, long live the remote worker](http://www.hanselman.com/blog/BeingARemoteWorkerSucksLongLiveTheRemoteWorker.aspx)
* [We Tried Building A Remote Team And It Sucked](http://blog.statuspage.io/we-tried-building-a-remote-team-and-it-sucked)
* [10 lessons from 4 years working remotely](http://whenihavetime.com/2014/07/08/10-lessons-from-4-years-working-remotely/)
* [What We’ve Learned Building a Remote Culture](http://www.helpscout.net/blog/remote-culture/)
* [Why Remote Work Thrives in Some Companies and Fails in Others](https://hbr.org/2015/03/why-remote-work-thrives-in-some-companies-and-fails-in-others)<commit_msg>Update distributed-working.md<commit_after>---
layout: page
section: how
categories:
tags:
title: Distributed working
---

Distributed working can be empowering, productive, and fulfilling. It can also be difficult and frustrating.

Here are some aspects of distributed working we've struggled with and some ideas we've come up with to help.

## Remote challenges

* [Low visibility](#{{ "Low visibility" | slugify }})
* [Camaraderie](#{{ "Camaraderie" | slugify }}) (or lack of)
* [Virtual meetings](#{{ "Virtual meetings" | slugify }})
* [A high quality work environment](#{{ "A high quality work environment" | slugify }})
* [Timezones](#{{ "Timezones" | slugify }})

## Low visibility

### Challenges

When you're in an office together it's easier to tell if someone is in a bad mood or if someone is struggling with something. **Assume your co-workers don't know your stressed, tired, or upset unless you tell them.**

## Recommendations

* **Work out loud.**
* Use the Hipchat status update commands to show what you are working on.
* Be assertive. **Say how you feel.** Don't be subtle with your feelings.


## Camaraderie

### Challenges

It's difficult to bond with your team when you don't have a chance to get to know each other. We have to make an intentional effort to develop this.

> One of the hardest things about working remotely is the lack of human contact to provide a moral boost during the difficult periods.

— <NAME>, Ghost

### Recommendations

* Arrange informal hangouts that have nothing to do with work.
* Get together when you can. Celebrate milestones in projects, or arrange a camp around a common objective.
* Remember that each country has cultural differences, spend time learning about these.
* Find apps to share a hobbies or interests online. We have groups on MapMyRun, Strava, and Goodreads.
* Make effort to ask deeper questions to your co-workers like “What's going well? What are you proud of this week?” and “What challenges are you facing? Where are you stuck?”
* Try asking open questions that start with how, when, and why.
* If in doubt, ask [your buddy](/working-at-wunderkraut/buddies/having/)


## Virtual meetings

### Challenges

Virtual meetings can be tricky and frustrating due to audio or bandwidth issues. Delays can make conversation awkward and time consuming.

It's difficult to maintain equality between all participants if some participants are face-to-face and some are virtual.

### Recommendations

* Ensure your internet is fast and reliable. Use wired internet where available. [See Google hangout bandwidth recommendations](https://support.google.com/plus/answer/1216376?hl=en)
* Have a list of video conferencing apps you can fall back to if one isn't working.
* Make sure everyone can hear and see everyone who is speaking. This is problematic when hosting meetings from a client office. Consider a separate microphone and webcam to capture everyone in the room.
* Supply clients with dedicated hardware if their own systems are restricted.

## A high quality work environment

### Challenges

Having your own personal office is a huge advantage of remote working. You can personalise your working environment to suit you, instead of a one-size-fits-all environment.

On the other hand, brick-and-mortar offices have health and safety standards that ensure everyone has a good working environment. When everyone has their own office, they are all responsible for their own working conditions.

### Recommendations

* Assess your working environment. [How does it affect your posture?](http://apps.washingtonpost.com/g/page/national/the-health-hazards-of-sitting/750/)
* **Invest money in your chair and desk.** The benefits pay off.
* Everyone is different, don't feel like you need to use the same equipment as everyone else.
* For more information and ideas, see [Home Office Assessment](/working-at-wunderkraut/health-and-safety/work-comfortably/home-office-assessment/)
* For inspiration, see [This is What a Remote Office Looks Like](https://zapier.com/learn/the-ultimate-guide-to-remote-working/remote-office-photos/)

## Timezones

### Challenges

To help all team members feel equal, it's important to reduce the assumption of an “official” project timezone. Avoid requiring unusual working hours if possible.

### Recommendations

* Book meetings so no one has to work unusual hours. Use tools like [Every Time Zone,](http://everytimezone.com/) [Sundial,](https://sundial.teleport.org) or [Homeslice.](http://homeslice.in/)
* **Don't skimp on cheap hotels or flights** for team members who are visiting. It's better that they are alert and comfortable to make the most of your face-to-face time together.
* **Be clear about your working hours.** Say “Hi” and “Bye” when you sign in and out, so it's clear if you are working or not.
* Document everything to help your team unblock themselves so they don't have to rely on you being online.

## Recommended resources

You can find loads of recent resources from the Wunder Team in the [remote working section of WunderShare](https://wundershare.herokuapp.com/category/remote-working) 

* [Remotive newsletter](http://remotive.io/)
* [The comprehensive guide to remote working](http://blog.remotive.io/the-comprehensive-guide-to-remote-working/)
* [The ultimate guide to remote work](https://zapier.com/learn/the-ultimate-guide-to-remote-working/)
* [Coby Chapple - Remote by Default: How Github Makes Working Remotely Not Suck](https://vimeo.com/96692943)
* [Why Work Loneliness Isn’t Just a Personal Problem, and What to Do About It](http://blog.idonethis.com/why-work-loneliness-isnt-just-a-personal-problem/)
* [Keeping your remote team connected](http://www.helpscout.net/blog/remote-team-connectivity/)
* [12 remote workers reveal how to be happy, effective and valuable](http://wpcurve.com/remote-worker)
* [Hard-Earned Lessons From Building a Remote Culture](http://www.entrepreneur.com/article/245689)
* [The year without pants](http://scottberkun.com/yearwithoutpants/)
* [How Github works](http://zachholman.com/posts/how-github-works/)
* [How to run a remote team](https://zapier.com/learn/the-ultimate-guide-to-remote-working/how-manage-remote-team/)
* [Being a remote worker sucks, long live the remote worker](http://www.hanselman.com/blog/BeingARemoteWorkerSucksLongLiveTheRemoteWorker.aspx)
* [We Tried Building A Remote Team And It Sucked](http://blog.statuspage.io/we-tried-building-a-remote-team-and-it-sucked)
* [10 lessons from 4 years working remotely](http://whenihavetime.com/2014/07/08/10-lessons-from-4-years-working-remotely/)
* [What We’ve Learned Building a Remote Culture](http://www.helpscout.net/blog/remote-culture/)
* [Why Remote Work Thrives in Some Companies and Fails in Others](https://hbr.org/2015/03/why-remote-work-thrives-in-some-companies-and-fails-in-others)
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