TRANSFORMING REMOTE WORK ENVIRONMENTS

How to Promote a Work-Life Balance for a Remote Company

Acro Commerce's approach to work-life balance introduces innovative strategies that transform home-based work by integrating flexibility, wellness, and connectivity into a cohesive experience. Explore how we are reshaping remote work culture, elevating it from merely manageable to genuinely enjoyable for all involved.

Being an Acro Commerce veteran, I’ve seen many changes during my almost seven years. 

Even when going from an all-in-office workforce to a remote-first company, what stands out to me is how the company continually strives to improve things for its employees. Everyone gets on well together, they enjoy being together inside and outside of work and are always very respectful of each other. An awesome place to work! I must say that out of all the companies I have worked for throughout my career, Acro Commerce has been the best at recognizing that promoting work-life balance is essential for the well-being and productivity of its employees. 

Work-life balance strategies at Acro Commerce

Establish boundaries

We all have set work hours, and it's important to stick to these when working from home. Be ready to start your day at the same time as you would typically arrive in your office or workplace and finish your day at the same time. At the end of a working day, switch off your computer and tidy away papers and other items. It will help if you set aside a specific, separate area in your home where you can set yourself up — ideally with a properly adjusted desk and chair, similar to your office workplace.

Flexible work hours

While we expect our full-time employees to work their contracted hours, they are encouraged to work with their manager on what times work best for them. Flexible start and end times allow our team to juggle different time zones and personal preferences.

If you are an early bird, you can start at the crack of dawn, or if you have to take your child to school before hitting your morning meeting, we take great pride in offering our staff the flexibility to decide what works best for their situation.

At Acro Commerce, we also have a pretty cool perk that allows our employees to take every other Friday off! This fringe benefit allows our team to work flexibly and elongate their weekends so they have more time to spend with their loved ones.

Encourage regular breaks

It's important to take regular screen breaks, stand up, stretch, move around, and even go for a short walk,  just as you would in an office. Some people prefer to take short breaks throughout the work day, whereas others take a 30-minute to 1-hour lunch break instead. 

Use the time to eat a snack or lunch, hit the gym, or do a touch of yoga and ensure you disconnect from work. Everyone is different, so we encourage our team to know what works for them. Personally, I love to dive into a book to switch off!

Provide wellness resources

Acro Commerce is dedicated to building a culture of health and wellness by encouraging its workers to engage in more healthy and active lifestyles. Eligible employees have access to an annual allowance that promotes health and wellness, be it a gym pass, a yoga retreat, or a ticket to their local ski hill, whatever keeps them happy and healthy.

Also, our robust extended health benefits offer various resources and perks to our team across Canada. Employees have access to mental health resources and healthcare providers, and they can access all features online.

Regular check-ins

Our HR and management team schedules regular check-ins with employees to discuss workload, progress, and any challenges they may face. This cadence creates an open communication channel for discussing work-life balance concerns.

Encourage time off

Everyone needs a vacation now and then, and we encourage all our employees to take some time off throughout the year to recharge. Unlike BC’s Employment Standards, all of our new hires can take their vacation allowance as soon as they start instead of waiting until their second year to use what they earned in their first year.

Provide the right tools

Beginning on the very first day of employment at Acro Commerce, all eligible employees will start to accrue a monthly allowance in our employee stipend program. This allowance can be used to purchase hardware, software and training that equips our team with the necessary tools and technology to streamline their work processes. Efficient tools and targeted training can save time and reduce unnecessary stress.

Celebrate achievements

At Acro Commerce, we love to celebrate!  We look for any way to celebrate our team, whether through birthday and work anniversary announcements or rewarding staff for hitting their third, fifth or tenth year with us (which we have quite a few — longevity that shows how much our work-life balance initiatives mean to Acro employees), even up to our recent launch of Karma rewards. The Slack Karma app allows us to provide peer-to-peer recognition, so we shower our colleagues with love and keep the mutual appreciation strong.

Team-building activities

We regularly organize virtual team-building activities such as trivia, escape rooms or games to strengthen the sense of camaraderie and promote a positive work environment.

We also have two very special events each year:

• Our Annual Acro Commerce Summit — this hybrid event (remote and in-person) is a chance for us to see where we are heading and what we, as a company, are working on for the year. We get to collaborate with our teams, hang out during and after work, and just enjoy the wonderful people working at Acro Commerce!
• Our Annual Fun Day — as the name suggests, this is our time to have fun!  Everyone in the company gets invited to join us for a week of lunches, dinners, happy hours, friendly ball games, and beers, topped off with a day free from work to enjoy lots of activities from axe throwing and painting to camping and team Olympics!

Regular surveys and feedback

Here at Acro Commerce, we understand that feedback from our team is vital to ensure we are listening to our staff’s needs and wants. We conduct quarterly surveys to gather feedback on the work environment and make adjustments based on the responses. This communication tool demonstrates that the company values the well-being of its employees.

By implementing these strategies, Acro Commerce has created a remote work environment that prioritizes work-life balance and contributes to the overall success and happiness of our team.

Want to work for a company that values your work-life balance?