Remote Work

What it takes

We aim for a working environment that gives everyone on the team as much freedom as possible, without harming the success of the studio or the work of other team members. To reach that flexibility, it matters to us that each person can freely choose the time and place of their work. The precondition for this, though, is a high degree of:

1. Personal responsibility (Have I contributed enough toward the aim?)

2. Focus on aims (Have I worked toward the right aims?)

3. Trust (Does everyone have a fair share in the team's success?)

4. Coordination (Have I communicated my work transparently and clearly?)

Remote as the default

In our own understanding, fjnland is a »place of longing for intelligent communication«. Where exactly that place is, we have deliberately left open. We believe that successful communication among ourselves is the key to successful collaboration. Regardless of location, it should at all times be uncomplicated, transparent and purposeful.

Why not 100% remote, then?

Times like the Covid pandemic showed us that remote is not everything. We learned again to value the chance to work as a team in one room, to ask a colleague for advice without much friction, or to gather around a focused problem. Today we want to create all the conditions for location-independent work (remote), without doing away with the option of working on site (the office) altogether. The middle that fits.

Our office as a creative hub

In our office at Bürgerbräu Würzburg we offer a standing invitation to work together in a creative setting. You will find up to 5 permanent desks there, which anyone on the team can use as needed, as well as space to present or meet with clients.

The shared lunch break with home-cooked food, and the exchange with other studios in the creative space, is often a good chance to recharge between working phases ;-)

Fully remote

There are times and project phases that need maximum focus with as little interruption as possible. Did you know it takes on average around 20 minutes to find your way back into focus after a disruption? Here is an interesting video on that.

We know this state all too well. So take the time and the quiet you need to do the work, in a place and at a time of your choosing, with concentration. Before and after that phase you should keep two things in mind:

Before: Share your status.

Let everyone else know that you are not reachable right now. Basecamp offers Focus Mode for this phase. Notifications and badges are switched off, so you are not distracted by them. If you are »offline« for longer (> 1 day) you should also enter this as Time-Off in Basecamp, so an »Out of Office« badge appears on your avatar. In the Time-Offs post you will find everything you need to know about that.

After: Update your team.

To keep everyone in the picture, it helps if you give the team a short update on your progress at the end of your focus time. For that we have made extra space on our team board in Basecamp under »Check-in & Updates«. A compact message or a short video of around 2 minutes is, in our experience, ideal. For the latter we recommend tools like screen.studio or cleanshot.com. You get the licences from us.