Newsletter: September 14

Setting boundaries with remote work 🧘‍♂️

September 14, 2022

TECLA connects the best tech talent in Latin America with the best remote-ok technology companies in the U.S., Canada, and Europe. If you want to upgrade your career, keep reading!

The boundaries keep shifting

  As more companies start to innovate with their remote policies, the work dynamic continues to experience change.  

For a lot of us, it meant burnout. However, with more information out there, you can adapt your routine and create healthy new boundaries. Today we will provide you with steps you can start to take today. Remember, before discarding the options, the key is always to try. Our relationship with work is changing, so maybe what you've been doing all along (that isn't really helping you) needs to change also.

  List your non-negotiables

In order to create your boundaries, it is important that you first identify what are non-negotiables to you. This is personal and varied between each individual. Start with these questions to figure it out:

  • What areas of my life I want to focus on? (be specific)

  • What tools do I have at my disposal?

  • What's my plan?

For example: "I want to focus on my mental health, I have trouble unwinding my thoughts, there is a meditation class I want to take at 12pm every Wednesday." Therefore, my non-negotiable would be my weekly meditation class. Do this exercise as much as you need, non-negotiables change with time.

  Know the ground where you stand.

In order to set boundaries, you need to know where you stand (and then trace your dividing line). When working remotely, you lose common interactions and unscheduled one-on-one. It's common to make mistakes, interpret something completely different, or not be clear about a deadline. This leads to overworking (no boundaries) and eventually burnout. Make sure you have a clear understanding of the year, quarter, monthly and weekly goals. Most of your daily actions should directly impact the expected results. If you find any roadblocks preventing you from achieving this, talk about them with your manager. What you should always be aware of, especially working remotely:

  • Typical work hours/workdays. Can it be flexible? How much?

  • Communication channels and purposes (Slack for quick check-ins vs. Trello for project updates)

  • Clear job responsibilities

  • Who will assign projects/work/deadlines

  • PTO policies

  Book your time, and respect it.

Block your time on your calendar. Not just the meetings, everything. Lunch break? Book it. Dentist appointment after work? Book it. If you want to respect the boundaries you already set, you need to see them scheduled. The more you see them, the more you will respect them. Treat your time off and personal space with the same attention you give a team call. If you already have set your boundaries but have a hard time following them through, this method will be extremely helpful.

  Start an end-of-day ritual

Since you are working remotely, when you are done with your work day, make a small ritual to cue your brain that it is really over. It can be something as simple as shutting down your computer, changing clothes, and having a snack. It doesn't matter what you choose, just repeat it at least for 2 weeks. After that period, your brain will understand it's time to disconnect and will do so on autopilot.

HOT JOBS OF THE WEEK:

  • Be part of the future of the Hospitality industry! You'll be in charge of improving the deployment and maintenance of our client's core network technology. Sr. DevOps Engineer | $6,500 - $7,500

  • Work with a small team of innovators responsible for creating the IP camera technology used for the NASA camera and major broadcasts such as US OPEN, Grammys, and many more. Frontend Software Engineer | $5,500 - $7,500 

  • Do you want to help the world take care of its carbon footprint? Our client's PM team is responsible for discovering, prioritizing, and delivering the main technology projects. Product Manager | $6,000 - $7,200 

  • Are you an AWS and Cloud enthusiast? This opportunity can help you thrive in your career. This team is reinventing the world through cloud-managed services. DevOps Engineer | $6,000 - $7,000* (*) This opportunity is only open to applicants from Mexico.

  • This company is looking for an IT professional with a solid technical background in Node.js and wants to work directly with their CTO and CEO. Is that you? Full-Stack Engineer | $5,000 - $6,500 

  • Work with former McKinsey & Company principals! This company is the leading provider of productivity-enhancing solutions for alcoholic beverage brands. Lead Applications Developer (Php, Angular, AWS) | $5,500 - $6,200 

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