“People have this idea that if you have a remote
team, they won’t work,” says Emma Rose Cohen,
CEO of Final Straw, a maker of reusable straws that
has a hub in Seattle. “It’s the opposite — if you hire
the right people, they’re self-starters, and self-
starters are often people who work too much.”
She’s alert to signs that any of her 15 staffers
are spending too much time on the job, and
when they tell her they feel burned out, tired,
or stressed, Cohen says it’s time to take a break.
And she’s very public about the fact she blocks
off time for non-work things she needs to do.
One reason why employees take remote jobs is
their bosses give them flextime; they can make
their own hours, take time off for children’s
activities or to go to the gym or walk the dog.
That perk can help a small business attract and
retain staffers.
But remote work is a bad fit for some employees
because it often is isolating; staffers can feel
disconnected and even alienated from co-
workers. That can be countered to some
extent through messaging channels that allow
everyone to chime in on a fun discussion. Cohen
has gone further, creating channels devoted to
specific topics like pets or podcasts.
When Andrew DeBell hires remote staffers,
he flies them to his company’s home base for
interviews; that’s one way to increase the odds
they’ll work well with the team at Water Bear
Learning, a Ventura, California-based company
that creates educational materials.
Some owners find remote work can have a
stifling effect on a team’s creativity — there’s no
light-bulb moments as staffers pass each other
in the hallway, no riffing in a meeting, no break
room chats that are unexpectedly productive.