As the leader of the pride, it has been a true adventure seeing our culture adapt since we started back in 1995. We are committed to evolve in our efforts to provide a world class work environment to everyone on our team. Workplace flexibility is an important part of our culture so here are five ways our team members benefit from a flexible work schedule:
1. Flexible Weekly Arrival and Departure Times
Team members can skip getting stuck in traffic as our in-person office hours are between 10:00 AM and 3:30 PM Monday – Thursday. Our team simply layers their work schedule over the 10:00 – 3:30 collaboration window. For example, one of our developers arrives super early around 6:30 AM and leaves around 3:30 PM each day. Others may choose to arrive around 10:00, take a 2-hour lunch/yoga break and leave after traffic dies down in the evening.
As an aside, I used to leave for work around 7:45 AM in the morning experiencing an average commute of 45 minutes with traffic. Today, I work from my home office for about 90 minutes and leave for the office at around 9:20 AM and my commute is cut in half. It’s like a peaceful drive to the office when everyone is on vacation.
2. Weekly Remote Work Day
Friday is our designated day where team members can work remotely in what is mostly a meeting free workday. We call it “Freedom Fridays.” Our team benefits from not having to waste time sitting in traffic. We also take pride in doing our part to help take cars off Austin streets.
3. Bonus Monthly Remote Work Day
In addition to Freedom Fridays, we allow team members to choose one day in the month to work remotely if needed. For example, we can all relate to once in a while just preferring to work from home or needing to be home because of hired contractor completing a home project.
4. Leave Early or Arrive Late
Each month team members can leave extra early or arrive extra late twice per month. We understand people lead busy lives. This helps provide a little more compassion amongst team members so we can get to our kids’ soccer game or perhaps catch a few extra z’s after a restless night.
5. Work Remote After Appointment
If team members have afternoon appointments they are free to work remotely to finish out their day. This gives team members the flexibility to take care of personal matters with the ability to jump right back into their day.
The Philosophy Behind Our Flexible Approach
In-person collaboration typically leads to easier communication, better solutions and more innovation. We seek to balance the need for face-to-face interactions with the importance of work schedule flexibility. We also believe work and personal life should have clear delineations. As an example, we never expect a team member to respond to email outside of work hours unless it’s an emergency.
In addition, our culture hinges on accountability and freedom for all team members. It’s at the heart of our culture, so the flexibility requires little to no oversight (see White Lion’s Core Value #4). Managing work and personal lives can be challenging for anyone, so our flexible approach helps bring more balance to the lives of each person on our team.
