Remote work

Remote team activities: How to have fun when you work from home

We know a lot about online team building here at Zapier. We've been a 100% distributed company for nearly a decade, and we have a lot of fun. Not like we're-all-hermits-and-we-don't-know-what-fun-actually-means fun—real fun.

7 strategies for running effective remote meetings

Meetings get a bad rap—for a good reason. They never start on time. Someone always dominates the conversation. Discussions inevitably go off-track. People start tracing their hands in their notebooks. And almost always, the meeting could've been an email.

How to small talk while working remotely (without being weird)

Saying good morning, in person, to a coworker you don't know is perfectly normal. Sending a private message to a coworker you don't know to say good morning is...weird. If not downright creepy. Look, that's just how it is. I don't make the rules.

Work from home apps: The 16 tools we use most at Zapier

As more people transition to remote work, we've received lots of questions about what work from home apps we use internally at Zapier.

5 tips for communicating on a remote team

At Zapier, our "default to transparency" value means that we communicate in public channels, share information, document our work, and ask questions in a way that helps others do their work more effectively.

A guide to onboarding remote employees

A successful onboarding program is the first step toward employee satisfaction and productivity. But no matter how well you've streamlined your process, everything changes when you have to do it remotely.

7 tips for managing remote employees

The skills a good manager needs tend to be similar whether you're working remotely or you're co-located.

The remote work survival guide

Remote work is full of challenges. Cross-timezone communication, a lack of structure, more distractions, and isolation all threaten to overshadow the benefits of remote work.

The 7 biggest remote work challenges (and how to overcome them)

No soul-crushing commute. No managers or co-workers hanging over your shoulder. No one stealing your lunch from the office fridge. Remote work is wonderful. But it's not without its challenges.

The best way to work remotely: 8 proven strategies for better remote work

After years of working from coffee shops and couches, there's one thing I'm certain of: working remotely is hard. Incredibly hard.

Remote Working: 8 Items for Every Remote Worker's Wish List

When you join a remote team or start working remotely, it's easy to think that a laptop and pair of earbuds are all the equipment you'll need to make being a remote teammate successful.

5 reasons to read REMOTE, even if you aren’t a remote team

The future is already here—it's just not evenly distributed. - William Gibson That is the quote that opens REMOTE: Office Not Required by Basecamp co-founders, Jason Fried and David Heinemeier Hansson.

How to build trust on a remote team

Whenever folks transition to remote work, they often ask me about accountability.

Build culture in your remote team with automation

When you can't get peppermint mochas with your team or share every thought that pops into your head with the person at the desk next to yours, how do you stay connected with your coworkers?

How to brainstorm remotely

There are two standard ways folks brainstorm in an office. One: get in front of a whiteboard and spout off ideas. Two: bounce around the office and hope something sparks your creativity.

Why remote work makes disagreement hard—and how to do it anyway

Having diverse viewpoints on a team makes that team better—but only if everyone on the team is willing to communicate those viewpoints. If people are afraid to disagree, then that diversity of perspectives loses much of its value.

New to remote work? Try these automated workflows.

Remote work comes with a unique set of challenges—the least of which involves remembering to put pants on. As a fully distributed team at Zapier, we've perfected the art of communicating, collaborating, and even getting to know each other remotely.

How to transition to remote work in a hurry

Working remotely becomes second nature when you do it all the time. But if you need to suddenly transition to remote work, you won't necessarily have effective systems in place.