This is Remote Life: Embracing the Suite Life of Interning from Home

This article has been indexed from The Duo Blog

With only a handful of years of wisdom under my belt, I’ve come to realize that the world works in ways you never expect. The big “P” was a challenge that no one could have prepared for, but one outcome of 2020 surprised me in the best way possible: interning from home is kind of nice, and I want to share a few reasons why.

The Home Office™: Working Here, There, and Everywhere

I hear that Duo’s offices are the pinnacle of an open-office tech start-up floorplan, complete with cool wall art and unlimited fancy coffee. However, I’d like to think that my humble remote setup can still spark joy. For starters, it exists wherever I want it to be.

Although I primarily sit at my crammed (but cable-optimized!) desk, seven feet from my bed, some other Home Office choices include: at the living room/kitchen table with my other fellow WFH roommates, outside in a hammock under some trees, and in an air-conditioned university building when the heat becomes too much. I have the freedom to choose where I work best and the flexibility to continue working, even if I choose to move back to my hometown or spend a few weeks in a different city.

This luxury of comfort and mobility is facilitated by the way teams here at Duo adopted remote working. While the initial shift to remote was challenging, Duo workshopped processes and programs (like summer internships) that adapt to needs and feedback. I frequently find myself hopping on quick calls, sharing my screen to get quick troubleshooting advice or creating a collaborative board to brainstorm with my team.

Tools like chat programs, Webex, and Mural, when complemented with supportive management and an openness to learning new methods of working together, contribute dramatically to establishing digital best practices that create a healthy and collaborative work culture. These are changes with longevity — a third of the Product Marketing team works in places without any Duo offices, so these practices will continue even as buildings begin to open.

A Broader Scope: Variety is the Spice of Life

Speaking of chat programs and Webex, one of the greatest advantages of a digital-first internship is the variety of conversations, projects, and unique learning opportunities I’ve been able to experience.

Read the original article: This is Remote Life: Embracing the Suite Life of Interning from Home