3 Motus Employees Share How They Are Empowered to Create A Flexible Work Style That Suits Them Best

Sponsored by Motus LLC

Sara Anderson, Lara Gibbons, and Aerica Lovett.

Photos courtesy of Motus.

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What will the future of work look like? According to Lara Gibbons, Director of Brand and Communications at Motus, the future is full of hybrid or fully remote work. “In the era of the great resignation, keeping talent is increasingly difficult. Companies will need to have a work environment that allows for flexibility around the work day,” she shares.

And, her colleague Aerica Lovett, the Design Manager at Motus, agrees that the future of work may not be, well, at work. “Remote work has boomed since the pandemic,” states Lovett. “With VR becoming more and more mainstream, I wouldn’t be surprised if companies started supporting a virtual office environment. Employees will still be working from home, but will put their headset on and “go to the office.”

So, if the future of work isn’t in a physical office, how can we excel in a remote or hybrid environment? To find out, we asked Gibbons, Lovett and their colleague Sara Anderson, a Manager of Professional Services at Motus. They had these top five pieces of advice to share: 

  1. Have a routine or schedule in the morning, and get up at the same time each day to get ready for the day. Also, try to save a little time for yourself before work.

    1. For instance, Lovett reserves an hour in the morning to do things like drink coffee, read or call her mom.

  2. If possible, maintain some sort of physical separation between your work and home life.

    1. As part of this, Gibbons suggests keeping your work setup in a different room if possible. Lovett emphasizes the importance of a dedicated workstation, as a place that you only use for work.

  3. Try to also block time off on your calendar for focused work.

  4. Make connections with your coworkers and be dedicated to learning from them, no matter where you’re situated.

    1. For example, Anderson emphasizes how there is always “something new to learn, regardless of how long you’ve been around, your title, etc. If you are the smartest person in the room [be it virtual or otherwise!], you’re in the wrong room.”

  5. Finally, be active and make sure you go outside

If you’d like to learn even more top advice on finding balance and excelling in the future of work, read on.

How do you manage to avoid burnout and find balance while working in a hybrid/remote environment? 

Anderson: I love spa days and spending time with my family. Whenever I feel like I’ve reached a point of burning out, I use a PTO day to reset. I turn off Slack notifications and check out for the day, knowing that the leads on my team will support me by handling things while I’m away.

Gibbons: I ensure I take time for myself each day and do something that is not related to work at all. Usually, that’s a physical activity like working out, boxing, walking or gardening. I also try to avoid having too many meetings each day. That allows me to have focused work time and get things done.

Lovett: If I find myself working a lot during a certain period of time, I look ahead a few weeks and find a day when I can take off for personal time. I might not get the immediate satisfaction of taking a break, but I have a day off I can look forward to. Sometimes, I use that day to catch up on household chores or to run some errands. Other times, I use it to go on a hike and spend some time outdoors. It’s nice to have a day here and there to take off and help avoid burnout.

Overall, how does Motus help support this work-life balance?

Anderson: As a working mom, it feels so empowering knowing that my company trusts their employees to do their jobs and do them well, all without the feeling of micromanaging through set work hours/days or a set location. It’s awesome that we are encouraged to use this flexibility to work from anywhere, with no judgment.

Motus also promotes building relationships throughout the organization by offering interactive, virtual classes such as mixology, flower arranging, chocolate tasting, etc. It’s such a cool idea and has been a great way to continue to build our connections throughout the company though we’re all in different locations.

Gibbons: Motus has always supported us in managing our time as we see fit. We measure success by the quality of work instead of the time spent at your desk. Our four WorkLife pillars center our culture around making work better, more productive and empowering the team to create a work environment that is best for their life. Our four pillars are WorkHappy, WorkHealthy, WorkSmart and WorkAnywhere. We have initiatives, perks and benefits that relate to each pillar; these include: experienced based summits, mental and wellbeing resources, a home office reimbursement and the opportunity to work anywhere.  

Lovett: Motus is extremely supportive of a flexible work-life balance. I am not required to be tied to my desk from nine-five. I am responsible for a variety of projects and, as long as I deliver quality work and can be there for my team, I can create a work style that suits me best. On occasion, I will take an extended lunch and workout during that time. To make up for the work I would normally do during those hours, I extend my work day into the evening or finish projects over the weekend. I know what works best for me and schedule my working hours to accommodate my needs.

A common issue in working in a hybrid/remote role is “checking out” when you aren’t working and focusing on your personal life. How do you achieve this?

Anderson: Motus supports checking out through their unlimited PTO policy — I don’t feel like I need to “save” my PTO days in case my son gets sick or in case of an emergency. It’s nice that I’m able to have the flexibility to use PTO on myself. So, I’ll either do a spa day or spend a family day with my husband and son, which allows me to reset and come back the next day re-energized and focused.

Gibbons: When I take time away from work, one of the hardest things to do is truly unplug and disconnect. While it’s convenient to have your work email and Slack on your phone, it also makes it easy to check-in while you’re out. Motus makes it very clear that when you’re out, you should be out and encourages the team to remove work apps from your phone and to take advantage of the unlimited PTO policy

Lovett: I don’t have my work email tied to my personal phone. This is one of the best ways to “check out” from work. I’m not being notified on my time off and can only check in with work-related things by logging into my computer. I have a dedicated workstation in my home that is strictly for work. When I’m not at the desk, I’m not at work. I will check Slack on occasion through my phone, but try to keep that at a minimum and turn off notifications during certain hours or days. If a teammate NEEDS to contact me for something urgent, they can text or call me if I’m not responding to Slack.

Overall, how does Motus support remote and hybrid work?

Gibbons: Motus has been functioning as a company with a hybrid approach to work since 2018. As a company, Motus invested in the right tools to keep dispersed teams connected — all while working together from different locations. To keep the team connected, Motus has regular all-company meetings, department Quarterly Business Reviews and Motus Monthly meetings. Teams and departments meet in-person a few times a year to get face time and collaborate in-person. We even host WorkForwad Pop-up offices in cities where we have cohorts of team members. This serves as a great way to stay connected with your team and others across the organization. All this has allowed the team to maintain a work life balance that fits their needs.  



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