OK. These suggestions come from an Old Guy perspective who still works. 1. Good chair = very big deal. My son kindly bought me gaming chair (Secret Lab Titan) with accessories and it makes this sitting life fine indeed. Pricey and worth it. 2. Google Meet - big captions and ease of use - important for the hearing challenged. 3. Do lots of one-one-one chat sessions to get to know people (larger meets are less useful in that regard). Important to ask good questions (that is your specialty) and be yourself on camera. Old actor saying "The camera loves you or it doesn't" But in this virtual age - make the camera love you by being open and entirely human, not a Facebook perfect image of yourself. You got this. As someone starting out again at 78 after 14 years of current (soon ending) job, my heart is with you on being the new kid when you are not longer the kid. I look forward to more wonderful Anna sessions with incredibly interesting people.
1. Get a good chair - it's worth spending at least a few hundred dollars on, unfortunately. Your middle aged body will thank you.
2. Zoom > GoogleMeet or anything else! Zoom isn't perfect, but I find it more user friendly overall when it comes to sharing screens, seeing folks, etc. There's a super cool AI tool now that basically takes notes for you, too. Totally recommend so that you can free up someone else's head space in a meeting.
3. So most of my company is distributed throughout the country, but we're a small team. We have 3 in-person retreats a year, and they are TRULY retreats. The focus is on bonding not working. We all block off our calendars for the 2-3 days we're together, and while we do talk work and enjoy some presentations, we mostly bond through team dinners, fun activities, or just having free time to do whatever you want. And yes, we ultimately end up getting some work done while we're all together, but it's not expected and it's not the focus, and I find that to be critical in our work relationships. Our company founders started these years ago, and it truly speaks to our work's culture that we are all humans with real human lives, and unplugging and enjoying the time we get to spend together is more important than sending those emails.
When I needed a good home office chair some years ago (became a remote worker), this article from Wirecutter was helpful. At the time, their budget pick was an IKEA chair and they basically said "if you can't spend $1k on a chair, this is the least-worst option." Probably similar today for their budget pick, although it's $400 itself.
They did mention looking at used chairs and some aggregators will buy used chairs from offices that are remodeling / closing and refurbish them to sell for reasonable prices. That's another avenue.
I ended up reaching out to a Steelcase dealer in the area and asked if they had any used chairs. They didn't, but the person who replied said they did have some nearly new Gesture chairs that had been used for a catalog photo shoot and she offered me one at *half price!* Sold, even though it was still an investment at that price point. It's been rock solid for years and very happy with it. Perhaps worth reaching out to any local-ish Steelcase or Herman Miller dealers to check if they have anything used, returned or otherwise they could sell you at a discount since you're just seeking 1 chair.
Good luck and best wishes for a great tenure at Slate!
Zoom >>>>> Meet. I work for a school district, and Zoom was the *only* way to successfully do any form of good adult learning during the pandemic and beyond (and, any meeting is an opportunity for learning!). Google Meet is trying to catch up, but it's still subpar. Post-pandemic, our district isn't renewing our Zoom subscription, and I'm particularly salty about having to adjust to Meet for everything.
A few highlights of Zoom that are still far superior: with breakout rooms, you can randomize, assign, *or* have participants opt-in. As a participant, you can much more easily see everyone who is on the call, especially when screen sharing. Speaking of screen sharing, Zoom has multiple options for how to set up your screen when someone is sharing; Meet has one that is really annoying.
1. If your peers only have access to Web Browsers, I think Google Meet is better. It does not require a password. The meeting organizer filters the participants when they try to join.
2. If you like better sound quality, Zoom is better. They have high-fidelity options.
Congratulations! I don't have a good office chair recommendation b/c my org gave me a random one to bring home (I split working in the office and at home 2 and 1/2 days each), and it's fine. But I agree with the idea to get the most comfy one that both you and your budget are OK with. Definitely choose Zoom. One of my kid's school does every parent communication with Meet and we've had so many more dropped calls with that, not to mention the noticeably more robust features offered by Zoom. I'm not currently in the same situation as you in terms of almost entirely remote work, however, because most people where I work are on different hybrid schedules and don't necessarily overlap we have monthly virtual "social" gatherings and monthly in-person gatherings, too (so there's something every couple weeks). The online ones tend to be educational, but on topics not work related. (We take turns sharing about our hobbies/outside interests.) The one I attended last month was about how to find good deals on personal travel, searching for reasonable airfare, the best travel apps to use, and a list of great destinations for families and couples, etc. The in-person gathering a couple weeks later was a chili lunch fest. Good luck, and I'm sure you will find lots of new friends!
1. NOT Branch (despite decent reviews online). If you find one you love, would definitely like to hear!
2. Zoom offers far better video if you have a less than ideal office setup. Google video never looks as good (and I’ve asked other women too). Google doesn’t seem to offer digital adjustments like Zoom (low light, etc.). And I use a separate webcam and small ring light so I’ve really tried to fix it.
3. I focus more on the relationship and social connection since I also work from home.
Hi Anna, my spouse and I have Herman Millers. They are insanely expensive but unfortunately, worth it. Sometimes you can get refurbished or gently used ones for less. FYI chairs labelled as "gaming" aren't necessarily better, and vinyl falls apart fast.
I am the sister with the Herman Miller chair - if you have a speciality furniture store (I bought mine from Design within Reach in DC), they will take the appropriate measurements to make sure the chair is perfect out of the box for you. And they typically have sales every so often so I didn’t pay full retail (though I would have since it saved my back).
GoogleMeet all the way, assuming you are using GoogleCalendar for your scheduling. Splurge on the desk chair but also agree with another commenter that being able to sit AND stand is nice. I also have a stand for my laptop that makes it eye level - that's been a big help for neck issues I was starting to have. I try to travel for in-person meetups about once per quarter. It is usually a mix of working alongside each other but also making sure our schedules are pretty clear so we have room for socializing.
I agree, I got a sit-to-stand desk at work several years ago and now I stand nearly all the time. It's actually much easier on my body than sitting and his made some of my aches and pains go away (e.g., my recurrent hamstring problems). You have to wear comfortable shoes, but really, life is too short to wear shoes that hurt.
Get a good chair, you’re going to need it more as you age, and the cost averaged over the many days of work isn’t that much. And a desk that allows you to work sitting or standing. One Who Knows.
Happy first week! Re office chairs, beware the lumbar support trap. It feels good at first but can trap your nervous system into holding an arched lumbar indefinitely (what you practice is what you learn) until you release it neurologically. For back, hip, and neck pain, try Clinical Somatic Education. This gentle method involves slowly and consciously contracting tight muscles and then very slowly and with control relaxing them. This allows you to regain cortical control of those muscles, resetting their resting length, instead of using static stretching. Youtube has a number of excellent teachers of this method.
OK. These suggestions come from an Old Guy perspective who still works. 1. Good chair = very big deal. My son kindly bought me gaming chair (Secret Lab Titan) with accessories and it makes this sitting life fine indeed. Pricey and worth it. 2. Google Meet - big captions and ease of use - important for the hearing challenged. 3. Do lots of one-one-one chat sessions to get to know people (larger meets are less useful in that regard). Important to ask good questions (that is your specialty) and be yourself on camera. Old actor saying "The camera loves you or it doesn't" But in this virtual age - make the camera love you by being open and entirely human, not a Facebook perfect image of yourself. You got this. As someone starting out again at 78 after 14 years of current (soon ending) job, my heart is with you on being the new kid when you are not longer the kid. I look forward to more wonderful Anna sessions with incredibly interesting people.
1. Get a good chair - it's worth spending at least a few hundred dollars on, unfortunately. Your middle aged body will thank you.
2. Zoom > GoogleMeet or anything else! Zoom isn't perfect, but I find it more user friendly overall when it comes to sharing screens, seeing folks, etc. There's a super cool AI tool now that basically takes notes for you, too. Totally recommend so that you can free up someone else's head space in a meeting.
3. So most of my company is distributed throughout the country, but we're a small team. We have 3 in-person retreats a year, and they are TRULY retreats. The focus is on bonding not working. We all block off our calendars for the 2-3 days we're together, and while we do talk work and enjoy some presentations, we mostly bond through team dinners, fun activities, or just having free time to do whatever you want. And yes, we ultimately end up getting some work done while we're all together, but it's not expected and it's not the focus, and I find that to be critical in our work relationships. Our company founders started these years ago, and it truly speaks to our work's culture that we are all humans with real human lives, and unplugging and enjoying the time we get to spend together is more important than sending those emails.
https://www.nytimes.com/wirecutter/reviews/best-office-chair/
When I needed a good home office chair some years ago (became a remote worker), this article from Wirecutter was helpful. At the time, their budget pick was an IKEA chair and they basically said "if you can't spend $1k on a chair, this is the least-worst option." Probably similar today for their budget pick, although it's $400 itself.
They did mention looking at used chairs and some aggregators will buy used chairs from offices that are remodeling / closing and refurbish them to sell for reasonable prices. That's another avenue.
I ended up reaching out to a Steelcase dealer in the area and asked if they had any used chairs. They didn't, but the person who replied said they did have some nearly new Gesture chairs that had been used for a catalog photo shoot and she offered me one at *half price!* Sold, even though it was still an investment at that price point. It's been rock solid for years and very happy with it. Perhaps worth reaching out to any local-ish Steelcase or Herman Miller dealers to check if they have anything used, returned or otherwise they could sell you at a discount since you're just seeking 1 chair.
Good luck and best wishes for a great tenure at Slate!
Zoom >>>>> Meet. I work for a school district, and Zoom was the *only* way to successfully do any form of good adult learning during the pandemic and beyond (and, any meeting is an opportunity for learning!). Google Meet is trying to catch up, but it's still subpar. Post-pandemic, our district isn't renewing our Zoom subscription, and I'm particularly salty about having to adjust to Meet for everything.
A few highlights of Zoom that are still far superior: with breakout rooms, you can randomize, assign, *or* have participants opt-in. As a participant, you can much more easily see everyone who is on the call, especially when screen sharing. Speaking of screen sharing, Zoom has multiple options for how to set up your screen when someone is sharing; Meet has one that is really annoying.
Zoom then Google Meet.
Teams is always a no!
Google Meet vs. Zoom:
1. If your peers only have access to Web Browsers, I think Google Meet is better. It does not require a password. The meeting organizer filters the participants when they try to join.
2. If you like better sound quality, Zoom is better. They have high-fidelity options.
Congratulations! I don't have a good office chair recommendation b/c my org gave me a random one to bring home (I split working in the office and at home 2 and 1/2 days each), and it's fine. But I agree with the idea to get the most comfy one that both you and your budget are OK with. Definitely choose Zoom. One of my kid's school does every parent communication with Meet and we've had so many more dropped calls with that, not to mention the noticeably more robust features offered by Zoom. I'm not currently in the same situation as you in terms of almost entirely remote work, however, because most people where I work are on different hybrid schedules and don't necessarily overlap we have monthly virtual "social" gatherings and monthly in-person gatherings, too (so there's something every couple weeks). The online ones tend to be educational, but on topics not work related. (We take turns sharing about our hobbies/outside interests.) The one I attended last month was about how to find good deals on personal travel, searching for reasonable airfare, the best travel apps to use, and a list of great destinations for families and couples, etc. The in-person gathering a couple weeks later was a chili lunch fest. Good luck, and I'm sure you will find lots of new friends!
Since you asked… 😉
1. NOT Branch (despite decent reviews online). If you find one you love, would definitely like to hear!
2. Zoom offers far better video if you have a less than ideal office setup. Google video never looks as good (and I’ve asked other women too). Google doesn’t seem to offer digital adjustments like Zoom (low light, etc.). And I use a separate webcam and small ring light so I’ve really tried to fix it.
3. I focus more on the relationship and social connection since I also work from home.
Hi Anna, my spouse and I have Herman Millers. They are insanely expensive but unfortunately, worth it. Sometimes you can get refurbished or gently used ones for less. FYI chairs labelled as "gaming" aren't necessarily better, and vinyl falls apart fast.
My sister also bought a Herman Miller for her home office since she's a remote employee and she loves it
I am the sister with the Herman Miller chair - if you have a speciality furniture store (I bought mine from Design within Reach in DC), they will take the appropriate measurements to make sure the chair is perfect out of the box for you. And they typically have sales every so often so I didn’t pay full retail (though I would have since it saved my back).
GoogleMeet all the way, assuming you are using GoogleCalendar for your scheduling. Splurge on the desk chair but also agree with another commenter that being able to sit AND stand is nice. I also have a stand for my laptop that makes it eye level - that's been a big help for neck issues I was starting to have. I try to travel for in-person meetups about once per quarter. It is usually a mix of working alongside each other but also making sure our schedules are pretty clear so we have room for socializing.
I agree, I got a sit-to-stand desk at work several years ago and now I stand nearly all the time. It's actually much easier on my body than sitting and his made some of my aches and pains go away (e.g., my recurrent hamstring problems). You have to wear comfortable shoes, but really, life is too short to wear shoes that hurt.
This chair, and the Gokhale method itself, has been an absolute game changer. From chronic back pain to healthy, happy, upright, strong body that still sits a good portion of the day (for work)! https://shop.gokhalemethod.com/collections/products/products/gokhale-pain-free-chair
Get a good chair, you’re going to need it more as you age, and the cost averaged over the many days of work isn’t that much. And a desk that allows you to work sitting or standing. One Who Knows.
Happy first week! Re office chairs, beware the lumbar support trap. It feels good at first but can trap your nervous system into holding an arched lumbar indefinitely (what you practice is what you learn) until you release it neurologically. For back, hip, and neck pain, try Clinical Somatic Education. This gentle method involves slowly and consciously contracting tight muscles and then very slowly and with control relaxing them. This allows you to regain cortical control of those muscles, resetting their resting length, instead of using static stretching. Youtube has a number of excellent teachers of this method.