The past 22 months of the pandemic have forced many companies to recruit, work and retain talent remotely.
And that means some workers who have just entered the labor force have never worked in an office, met any coworkers in person or moved more than a few feet away.
'A happy employee'
Morgan Toles has worked for the online notary service Notarize for nearly 18 months – first as an intern and eventually as a lawyer – but she has never worked in a company office or met her coworkers in person. Didn't.
Still, Tols said he enjoys working out from the comfort of home.
She said finishing law school remotely in the pandemic helped prepare her for a more remote situation altogether.
"It helped with the transition," Toles, 26, said.
Notarise has previously decided to stay away, meaning most employees will continue to work from home most of the time. The company closed two satellite offices during the pandemic, and its Boston headquarters will now serve as a meeting and event venue if needed.
Tolles lives in Sacramento, California, and her team of 10 people working with her is spread across the US, so she starts her day around 6:30 or 7:00 in the morning and usually around 4:00 Or logs off around 4:30. ,
"I don't have travel, I'm working from my room, which makes me a happier employee. I don't have to deal with traffic," she said.
Since going to your boss's or coworkers' office isn't an option, Tolls is relying on Slack to communicate and seek guidance.
"I can put my supervisor or another lawyer on my team and say: 'Hey, I'm struggling with this, can you help me?' And not only can they answer when they have a minute because I'm not standing at their door... they can see it and answer when they're free."
Learning to Connect With Colleagues Virtually
Asking questions can be intimidating -- especially when you're still trying to get a feel for how a company works and you want to make a good impression.
Anish Ravipati, 22, who joined fintech startup Ramp in August 2021 after graduating from the University of Michigan, was worried he was asking too many questions - at least at first.
"When you message someone on Slack you can see how many messages you've sent them before, so I worried I was asking for too much," he said. "Personally, you might notice when someone isn't busy... and then it's okay to annoy them... but you literally have no clue."
But after discussing his concerns with co-workers, he soon overcame the fear. "Everyone said, 'No, please trouble me,'" said Ravipati. "The fact that I felt comfortable talking about it was a big part of feeling the culture ... really felt like I could be myself and be honest with people." "
Ramp was launched in February 2020 and is based in New York. Before the pandemic, almost all of its employees worked in its office. Now it is planning to introduce a hybrid schedule.
Ravipati worked from Ohio during his first month in the company and later moved to New York. He has been in the office several times, but is still mainly working remotely. Ideally, he said he would like to work in the office two days a week.
He has met some of his colleagues in person, but he said video meetings have made it easier to connect with others on his team on a more personal level.
He said, "In the office, it is easy to see only one side of the people...if you want to talk about their personal life you have to take the initiative and do it yourself." "But literally, I can hear my product manager's daughter... I get to see her as a father figure. It's nice to see someone as a different person."
'I can schedule my day however I want'
When Lynn Tran was looking for a job during her senior year at Northeastern Illinois University, she was open to any work arrangement—but she wasn't sure if she'd want to work from home full time.
"Honestly, I never thought I'd be a person who would work from home, I'm not a homebody, but it allows for a lot of flexibility. I can schedule my day how I want to 'There's no crazy traffic or commutes,'" said Tran, 24.
Tran graduated last year and joined staffing firm Robert Half in December. While the company has offices across the country, employees will have the flexibility of how often they visit the office.
Benefits of working in person
Graduating a few months after the pandemic began in 2020 was tough for Ariana Dennebeam.
She majored in communications at Chapman University in Orange, Calif., and was looking to begin a career in marketing, advertising or public relations. But he found it difficult to find a job. At the time of her graduation in May 2020, the unemployment rate stood at 13%.
"The job search ... was very brutal," she said. "There was nothing available, especially in the industries I was interested in ... It was very discouraging."
He also found remote interviews difficult.
"I really enjoy interviewing people in person and in person and seeing people at The Office," said 23-year-old Dennebeam.
She finally got a job at a fully-fledged remote tech startup in August. While she was happy to have the flexibility to move from California to New York City, the situation wasn't perfect, and she didn't like working from home all the time.
So, in early 2021, he started working for DKC Public Relations. The company's New York and Los Angeles offices are hybrid, with Mondays and Fridays considered work-from-home days. But those offices are completely closed since December.
"I've realized how much more I love being in the office," she said. "It's so hard to sit in one place in a room all day. It's hard for me to be in my private space without getting distracted by the little things."
Going to the office has also helped them to know more about the company and from their peers.
"Being able to see how people interact, even if someone is holding a conference in the room next to you and you can hear these high-level professionals and how they communicate and the way they think, I wouldn't be able to get it earlier," she said.
She said that by going to the office she has also found new friendships.
"I've made friends that there's no way I wouldn't be close to them if I didn't go to the office."