As we kick off vGHC21 this week, we highlight how being a remote company enables our global team to pursue fulfilling work. Meet three women who work for Virtasant from different parts of the world.
Remote work nurtures agility, diversity and work-life balance. As a native remote company, Virtasant is one of the largest distributed companies in the world.
The typical workday before 2020 was pretty uniform for most of the world. People woke up, got ready to leave their homes, commuted to an office, and returned home at the end of their workday while relegating personal and family life to the weekends. Then, everything changed.
While many companies struggled to create remote options, native remote companies, like Virtasant, were ahead of the game. However, since 2020, the benefits of a remote work model have become unavoidably evident. Many companies realized that they could get back to business by allowing employees to work from home.
Remote work suddenly became a buzzword, and now, even as offices begin to open back up, it continues to stir discussion and debate. Remote work introduced a slew of challenges - cybersecurity and accessibility to name a few - but it presented new opportunities for equality to thrive.
Why Working From Anywhere Matters to Women
There are many reasons why remote work is more beneficial than the requirement to work in person. Not only is there less overhead, but remote work also makes companies more appealing to top talent. One study by Zapier found that 57% of employees think remote work is the most attractive company perk.
Remote work has the added benefit of supporting work-life balance. Reducing a twice-daily commute and the constant need for face-to-face interaction creates more ease for remote employees. For example, breaking up the day with rest or personal errands creates better wellness, making employees happier and more effective. One survey found that 42% of remote employees admitted to eating healthier at home than they did in in-person office environments.
Perhaps the most promising change brought about by remote work is that it can increase diversity. Access to quality work is critical in the tech industry, which still lags significantly in inclusion. Remote work increases access to high-paying roles for people with physical and mental health disabilities, "super commuters," and women.
Women, who are more likely to bear the brunt of childcare responsibilities, prefer to have the option of working from home. In fact, the inability to care for children is one of the top reasons women exit the workforce entirely. A 2020 study by the Anita B. Organization found that women still only make up 28% of the tech workforce, and it will take over a decade before we see things balance out completely.
Charging the way for diversity and access to quality work, Virtasant is a cloud company that was built in and operates entirely in the cloud - our organization is embodied by people, not a physical office. We're located worldwide - from New York City to Bosnia - and each team member embraces their workday differently. As sponsors of the 2021 Grace Hopper Celebration, we’re happy to share stories from our very own globally distributed team this year.
Meet three women who dare to work from anywhere! Our Head of Cloud Partnerships, Mine lives in Istanbul, Turkey; Kelsey, a Virtasant Sales Executive, works from San Francisco, California, and our Operations Manager, Mahiara, lives and works from her home in Sao Paulo, Brazil. See and share their stories on Twitter, Instagram and LinkedIn this week.
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