Making It Work (Remotely) Three Years On

“Um, Jessica, is that your daughter climbing on a bookshelf?”

That’s what our Internal Communications Manager Jessica heard during a Zoom meeting one day. This was after the world shut down in 2020 and all were sequestered at home, scrambling to figure out how to deal with it all —work-from-home, kids, e-learning, keeping ourselves and our families safe, and a new life in general. And in Jessica’s case, how to stop her kid from literally climbing the walls.

It’s no secret that the pandemic changed the workplace game, a subject I devote some time to in my new book, Culture through Crisis: One Team’s Committment to Winning with Purpose. One of my favorite things to see evolve? Society’s general acceptance of the very real lives that happen beyond our curated Zoom backgrounds.

Work-Life Pre-Pandemic

Asked about life before the pandemic (can you remember that?!), Jessica recalls her unique situation. She was already working from home but, back then, didn’t worry about kid-interrupted meetings. She had her in-laws to help with that, and although video work calls weren’t as frequent at the time, we still had them occasionally. “But kids were not something you saw or heard when we were on meetings,” she remembers.

Fast-forward to the Pandemic

There was no sitter coming to your house — certainly not your COVID-vulnerable older parents. “Not to mention, at the beginning of the pandemic, there was no sitter or nanny coming to your house to help with childcare, and daycares were either shut down or booked until 2027,” Jessica says. “Not to mention, kids were doing virtual learning from home because schools were closed.”

Medix, along with many other companies, began to pivot, having more and more virtual meetings. And so life — all of it — became more visible to all. Pre-pandemic, the minutes before a video meeting could be stressful to some — from making sure the dogs are happy and hopefully won’t bark to getting the office background picture-perfect to ensuring the kids are taken care of in childcare of some sort, or school. That all went out the window in 2020.

“You started to see a lot of parents doing what they needed to do to survive,” Jessica says. “You saw kids and pets in calls all the time, and probably the coolest aspect is that my daughter made virtual friends with some of the other kids and still asks about them to this day.”

At Medix, we made it work and underlined the fact that we’re all in this together. We’re family.

“We all know each other’s kid’s names and what milestones they’re hitting or not hitting,” Jessica says. “They’ve been there to support my daughter through so many various milestones — starting Kindergarten, getting diagnosed with amblyopia and getting glasses, becoming a big sister.”

In fact, Medix gives Jessica’s daughter Beckett an ‘annual review’ now. This began a year after we began to pivot. She says, “My boss asked her how she worked over the last year, and Beckett replied, ‘Well Megan – I worked good, and I worked bad, but I jobbed.’ And then proceeded to ask her for a raise!”

Still Thriving

Three years on, we’re continuing to learn how to help each other and make it all work. Some of us have returned to the office for that one-on-one culture we love. Many of us get the best balance from a hybrid work life. Most people are now able to have arrangements in place for their kids. But no matter what, we all recognize that life is chaotic and loud, and full of interruptions. And we love our teammates all the more for it. That includes Jessica — and Beckett.

“From my boss giving my daughter an annual review, to you, the CEO challenging my daughter to draw you things while we are on calls — so she’s happy but also occupied! — Medix has made the experience of being a working mother 1000% easier, not to mention the long-term effects this has had on my mental health!” Jessica says. “My daughter knows every single person’s name on my team and knows you, our CEO, as Uncle Andrew because of how you’ve all embraced her. Medix has given me freedom and flexibility with my work life and my kids, and ultimately it’s made me more engaged and committed to Medix.”

That’s what it’s all about. I can’t wait to see how we further engage and evolve in the coming months and years!

How has your work life evolved over the last three years?