A Workplace Team Rebuilds for Remote-First

As COVID-19 restrictions begin to ease in various regions, GitHub’s Workplace Experience team has been planning a path forward that prioritizes a remote-first model while keeping offices and co-working spaces available for those who need them. The plan includes continued investment in culture and technology that supports remote workers, plus preparations to meet or exceed local government and health regulations before any office reopening. Although GitHub has always had a majority-remote workforce, some employees are eager to return to a physical office, while others will opt to stay remote permanently.

Lara Owen, GitHub’s Director of Global Workplace Experience for the past six years, has overseen the team responsible for physical security, real estate, office operations, and coworking and remote logistics. She recently discussed the extreme shift her team made to support a fully remote workforce and what the future of office work looks like.

Pivoting from Brick and Mortar to Virtual

Before the pandemic, the Workplace Experience team centered on traditional offices, with roles like Office Managers and Security Managers requiring a physical presence. When COVID-19 hit, the entire operation had to become a remote-first team supporting a remote-first company. Many roles changed immediately, and the team leaned heavily into GitHub’s culture of asynchronous communication for daily workflows.

The most substantial change was redirecting office managers to support a virtual culture. This required shifting mindsets from a local to a global perspective, which proved dramatic but necessary for many on the team.

On the engagement side, the team launched the Hubber Care series, a collection of fun activities including asynchronous scavenger hunts, DJ sets over Zoom, mindfulness sessions, workouts, and mini-Pictionary games before meetings. The idea is to add levity to the day as employees adjust to the new normal. Hubber Care also provides resources for students that working parents can use while schools are closed.

Simultaneously, the team is fully engaged in planning for the safest possible office return, which will use a phased approach to protect essential on-site workers. An employee survey revealed that the top reason people wanted to return to the office is missing coworkers, so the reopening strategy will support that social need while also planning for a remote-first workplace.

Remote Best Practices from a Team of Extroverts

The Workplace Experience team is full of extroverts who thrive on in-person interaction, making the remote transition a significant mental adjustment. To cope, the team has made mental health a priority, encouraging employees to take at least one day off per month. Owen stresses the importance of vacation time to counterbalance the tendency for work to spill into 12-hour days when the boundary between office and home blurs.

Other practices include recording all meetings to accommodate time zones and conflicting priorities. The team uses GitHub repositories and Discussions to document work and collaborate asynchronously, ensuring inclusivity across the global team. Given the uncertainty, Owen reminds her team to remain flexible and comfortable with failure when new ideas don’t land. For example, a recent movie night saw low attendance, likely due to video-conference fatigue. The team adjusted the program after realizing that 90–120 minutes is too long for a virtual social event.

Celebrating small moments is another critical practice. Owen recently had a birthday cake delivered to a team member’s home. Acknowledging birthdays, anniversaries, and engagements helps maintain morale and human connection in a remote setting.

The Future Workplace: Socialization Over Productivity

For remote work to succeed, it must be built into the culture rather than treated as a perk. Employers should offer employees autonomy and choice about whether to return to an office. GitHub’s future vision is one where offices serve primarily as social spaces, with productivity handled anywhere. That means investing equally in virtual and in-person social gatherings.

As the series on remote work continues, the focus will remain on sharing practices that help teams function effectively in a remote environment.