Telling our own story about the dayshift

Do you find yourself in a whirlwind of changing expectations and unprecedented opportunities with work?

The Dayshift, as we’ve come to call it, is looking at transformative ways in which people approach work. We’re examining a groundswell of new behaviours that, among other things, is giving rise to new perspectives for the remote worker.

We sat down with several individuals over the past month to delve deeper into remote work using a framework called Talk Parties. While the office versus the home media debate still goes on, most of us are using hacks to manage our work days, with limited time to reflect how this could improve.

Talk Parties are a way of unpacking experiences and feelings about remote work, and an obligation-free way of analysing the topic with enough detail to find insights that are tailored to our personal ways of working. 

The surge in remote work has led to a demand for better tools and environments to facilitate richer collaboration that help us come together. From enhanced cameras to digital or hybrid collaboration spaces, and further developments in ergonomic work furnishings, the need for solutions that cater to this new dimension of work has never been more apparent.

What’s particularly intriguing is that while the number of people involved in or affected by this shift has tripled, cultural and social norms have yet to be tightly defined.

We find ourselves at a juncture where the possibilities feel loose because the direction of the future workplace is still taking shape.

Dayshift Talk Parties are a platform that helps us engage in meaningful conversations with people about the evolving nature of work. We’re learning through others as we talk about their hopes and struggles with remote work. 

One prominent lesson came from a design leader who is seeking a deeper explanation of ways for building morale within remote design teams. Not only in project teams, but in the lighter social connections that help people belong to one another and belong to being part of the company they work for.

This highlights a growing awareness that the success of the dayshift isn’t solely dependent on the tools we use but also on the human connections we foster, one conversation at a time.

We also learned from a UX researcher how the size and configuration of their workspace might influence the depth and scope of their ideas. And the social dynamics of work when considering the lives of partners we live with will differ wildly depending on the space and work behaviours. It can be vital to step aside and talk about how the best work and life ought to happen at home.

Because norms don’t always seem clear or to make sense, people reach out to us for a Talk Party to make sense of their own situation.

People need a space to share their thoughts, concerns, and ideas and an outlet for conversation because they have questions to ask and experiences to report on, but often they have no place to go or people to speak with about it. Sometimes they’ll need an individual discussion, and other times they’ll appreciate the company of a few other people with experiences of their own to discuss.

We created Dayshift to help individuals and teams find their own personalised way of working remotely. A Talk Party can help redesign a new way of working. It’s a first step toward unpacking what’s working and what’s not, providing a supportive environment for individuals and teams to navigate the uncharted territories of the dayshift. 

If you’re in a similar situation, wondering how you could change the way you work remotely, reach out to us and let’s schedule a Talk Party.

Participants tell us this helps them get to know where to put their focus and make incremental changes in finding and designing their own remote work rhythm. It takes 90 minutes, and we produce a report from every conversation which helps open the possibilities of people finding their own remote work rhythm.