Remote-work resources
Remote-work resources
On this page, we’re curating a list of resources for remote professionals, teams, and organizations.
Looking for GitLab’s library of guides to working remotely? Those are here.
Resources on GitLab’s all-remote approach
Articles
- Fast Company: Extremely Transparent and Incredibly Remote
- Protocol: Do you need to hire a ‘head of remote?’
- Washington Post: Hot new job title in a pandemic: ‘Head of remote work’
- CNBC: Embracing Remote Work: Meet the Oracles
- Harvard Business Review: Remote Work Doesn’t Have to Mean All-Day Video Calls
- Crowe Global: Exclusive Q&A With GitLab’s Head Of Remote
- San Francisco Chronicle: Tech’s hottest job title in 2021? ‘Head of remote work’
- Digiday: ‘Change without story is a mandate, change with story is purpose’: Why marketing and comms execs are being tapped for chief-of-remote roles
- NPR Marketplace: Why more companies are hiring heads of remote work
- Ladders: The dawn of the age of Chief Remote Work Officers
- The Org: The Hottest New Title in Tech: Head of Remote Work
- Silicon Foundry: Remote Work, Resilient Organizations, and Better Lives
- SHRM: Why You Need a Remote-Work Leader
- AdvisorTV: How an abundance mindset leads to thriving remote teams
- Fortune: Want to know how to WFH better? There’s a class for that
- GitLab proves operating an all-remote workforce is possible with thousands of employees
- Digiday: Future of remote work perk: The company – and family – retreat
- Challenges and Opportunities in the Remote Workplace
- A Q&A with GitLab’s head of remote on the Carta blog
- Intentionally remote: Why this isn’t just a big experiment
- Remote Work Tips From GitLab’s Head of Remote And Guinness World Record Top Publisher
- San Francisco Chronicle: Remote-work pioneer GitLab has this warning for companies plotting a return to the office
- How GitLab Cracked The Code Of Remote Working
- Going Distributed: Choosing the Right Remote-Friendly Team Model
- GitLab’s Darren Murph on Building Remote Company Culture
- A guide to remote working for startups
- The office of the future is no office at all, says startup - Wall Street Journal
- All-remote GitLab offers advice and resources for life away from offices
- 5 Questions with GitLab’s Head of Remote on Business Travel
- 8 secrets of GitLab’s remote work culture
- How to keep healthy communication habits in remote teams
- Remote work demands a supportive company culture
- 5 fun strategies companies are using to make remote workers feel included
- Tech’s newest unicorn has employees in 45 countries and zero offices
- No need to come to the office: Making remote work at GitLab
- GitLab and Buffer CEOs talk transparency at scale
- Why GitLab is remote only
- Tips for Managing a Remote Workforce During Coronavirus — and Beyond
- GitLab 2020 Remote Work Report Highlights Key Motivators for Remote Work
- More than 4h of video calls each day? Work doesn’t have to be this way.
Blogs from GitLab team members
- First time all remote: Expect the unexpected
- First time all remote: My first week at GitLab
- 5 tips for mastering video calls
- How to make your home a space that works with kids
- How being all remote helps us practice our values at GitLab
- How I balance a baby, a career at GitLab, and cultural expectations of motherhood
- How to live your best remote life
- My remote story: Living for more than the weekend
- 5 things you might hear when meeting with GitLab’s CEO
- How I work from anywhere (with good internet)
- A day in the life of the “average” remote worker
- First time all-remote: My new workspace featuring standing desk and curved monitor
- We’re all in this Together: A Wellness Guide from the CNCF Well-Being Working Group
- How we turned a dull weekly all-hands into a podcast
- The GitLab handbook by the numbers
- Remote manifesto by GitLab
- Working remotely at GitLab: an update
- The case for all-remote companies
- How remote work enables rapid innovation at GitLab
- Why GitLab pays local rates
- Remote work: 9 tips for eliminating distractions and getting things done
- A day in the life of a remote Sales Development Representative
- The remote future: How tech companies are helping their remote teams connect
- Remote work, done right
- How working at GitLab has changed my view on work and life
- GitLab team-members share how to recognize burnout and how to prevent it
- How we stay connected as a remote company
- How to become the best distributed software development team
- How to keep remote (volunteer) teams engaged
- 3 things I learned in my first month at GitLab
- Working at GitLab: 30 days later
- What it’s like to be a parent working at GitLab
- To work remotely you need: Wifi and good communication habits
- Highlights to my first remote job
- I’m leaving GitLab to help everyone work remotely
Videos, podcasts, interviews, presentations
Videos
- theCUBE: How GitLab operates as an all-remote company with Darren Murph, Head of Remote
- First time all-remote: Best practices from and with GitLab (presented by Michael Friedrich) (Slides)
- Remote Work playlist on GitLab Unfiltered
- Distributed Valley 2020: Darren Murph, Head of Remote at GitLab
- Darren Murph - Remote Team Essentials: How to build process and documentation into your culture
- YouTube: TFiR Interview - He Built A $1 Billion Open Source Company With No Headquarters: Sid Sijbrandij of GitLab
- Skills For Mars — Darren Murph On Transparency, Values & Leadership when All-Remote
- How to build and manage a distributed team - GitLab and Arch Systems
- Building a distributed company
- Using video for effective collaboration for remote teams
- GitLab and Turtle’s CEOs talk about running remote companies
- Opening keynote from GitLab Contribute, 2019
- This Week In Tech: GitLab
- YouTube: All remote work with Mark Frein (InVision) & Sid Sijbrandij (GitLab)
- YouTube: Sid presents Remote Work Best Practices at Mesosphere
- Remote Without Warning Webinar: How to adapt and thrive as a suddenly-remote company
- Preparing Your Team for Remote Work Webinar
- The End of the Office and Scaling Remote Teams with Savannah Peterson & GitLab CEO Sijbrandij
- Top tips for employees and companies forced into work from home and remote work
- theCUBE: How GitLab has scaled as an all-remote company with Sid Sijbrandij, CEO and co-founder
- Modern Work: Finding Structure in an Officeless World
Podcasts
- A Whole New Level — Building & Scaling Remote Teams with Sam Corcos and Darren Murph
- The Future of Work Project — Darren Murph // Unlocking the Super Powers of Remote, and its Positive Effects on Families
- Workology - Building the Future of Work Remotely With Darren Murph
- HR Leaders Podcast — How GitLab Creates and Sustains Scalable Remote Practices
- Grafana Labs - Remote work done right: How remote-first companies put people first
- Collaboration Superpowers - Live The Remote Dream
- The Modern People Leader - How culture is built outside of company walls
- The Dan Smolen Experience — Unleash the Remote Workforce
- How I Work Podcast — GitLab’s Head of Remote, Darren Murph, on how to create corporate culture when no one works from the office
- SafetyWing Podcast — How to transition to remote
- Changelog Podcast — Creating GitLab’s remote playbook
- The Recruitment Network Podcast — The Future of Remote Working with Darren Murph
- Wise Up with Cristina Podcast - Darren Murph, Remote Rebel, on Opportunities Beyond Work
- Yac Podcast: The Man, The Myth, The Head of Remote Legend
- Working Without Borders: Darren Murph on leading a remote culture at GitLab
- Customer Centric Podcast — Darren Murph: home is where the office is
- OpenFin MVP Podcast — All-remote before it was mandatory with GitLab’s Brendan O’Leary
- Bright & Early Podcast — Darren Murph: Remote Work at GitLab
- Outside The Valley — Darren Murph of GitLab: Why Companies Should Go All-Remote
- Accelerating Support Podcast: Darren Murph, Head of Remote at GitLab
- The Changelog: GitLab’s Master Plan
- The Twenty Minute VC: A podcast interview with GitLab founder Sid Sijbrandij
- Coder Radio interview with Sid on 100% remote work and the GitLab model
Articles
- Lessons learned from GitLab about remote work - Team Topologies interview with Darren Murph
- LinkedIn Talent on Tap: Tips for a productive all-remote workforce
- GitLab’s secret to managing 160 employees in 160 locations - Interview by Y Combinator
- GitLab’s remote-only presentation, 2017
- Software Engineering Daily: GitLab with Sid Sijbrandij
- Outklip Blog: Using Video for Remote Work: Q&A with GitLab CEO
- Arc Blog: Work Like Automattic, Buffer & GitLab - Remote Operations at Top Distributed Companies
Threads and conversations
Resources on remote work
Articles
- How to transition to remote work
- Amplify Accelerator Open Source Learning Lab
- Why remote work leads to a stronger company culture
- How companies benefit when employees work remotely
- Why working from home is a “future-looking technology”
- Why does writing matter in remote work?
- Krisp — Working From Home: A Beginner’s Guide
- Slack Blog — How Toptal and GitLab build community and work-life balance in Slack
- The firm with 900 staff and no office
- The distributed workplace
- Why office hours are obsolete
- It’s time to factor remote work into our urban planning
- 23 key remote work and telecommuting statistics for 2019
- How remote work can reduce stress and revitalize your mindset
- The 1 trait all remote workers need – here is how to cultivate it
- The Financial Benefits of Working Remotely (for Companies and Employees)
- 6 ways in which offering flexible working makes you a great employer
- 5 reasons remote teams are more engaged than office workers
- Remote work becoming “new normal”
- Here’s why remote workers are more productive than in-house teams
- The benefits of and questions facing remote and distributed startups
- The end of an era for easyDNS
- Engagement around the world, charterd - HBR
- Helping Creativity Happen from a Distance
- How to build a remote team
- Remote work doesn’t scale… or does it?
- Case Closed: Work-From-Home is the World’s Smartest Management Strategy
- A Long Commute Could Be the Last Thing Your Marriage Needs
- 6 People Who Prove You Don’t Have to Sacrifice Your Career to Work Remotely
- After Growing to 50 People, We’re Ditching the Office Completely
- On-Premise Tribes in Shiny Caves
- The benefits - and pitfalls - of working in isolation
- It’s not just the isolation. Working from home has surprising downsides
- The Day They Invented Offices
- That remote work think piece has some glaring omissions (a rant)
- Tweets about the impact by Amir Salihefendic
- Martin Fowler on remote vs. co-located
- Top 5 Reasons Why Companies Adopt Remote Work
- Remote Work 1-2-3: First Three Steps to Going Remote
- Work is Work: In which returns diminish
Best practices
- Communication Debt - How and Why to Keep Your Team Out of It
- Hiring top talent from generation Z: 14 essential recruitment tips
- Remote Ideation: Synchronous vs. Asynchronous
- How to create genuine camaraderie among remote workers
- How remote businesses can attract high-quality job candidates
- Six lessons we learned while scaling a distributed startup
- How to inspire and motivate your team that works from home
- How to separate home-life from working-from-home life
- How these 5 secrets help remote workers thrive
- 5 ways to cultivate a healthy mindset in a remote team
- Remote work is here to stay: Here’s how to avoid three common compliance issues
- How to lead those working remotely
- How to build a successful remote business
- How to stay productive when you’re working remotely
- 10 tips for improving your remote conversations
- 450 remote workers reveal how to boost productivity when working from home
- Managing Remote Employees: Best Practices from Doist’s Head of Marketing
- The future of work is distributed. Here’s how your company can strategize.
- Leading remotely - What every manager should know
- Why engaging remote workers is good people business and how to do it
- How to Pitch Your Boss on a Remote Working Arrangement
- 4 golden rules for living the laptop lifestyle
- 5 ways to make your remote team more effective
- How to make remote work, work
- 5 ways to stay motivated when you work remote
- Five mistakes that destroy the efficiency of your remote workers
- These Are the 8 Best macOS Apps for Working Remotely
- Remote working tips by Groove
- Guidelines for Effective Collaboration
- The Ultimate Guide to Remote Standups
- How Do You Manage Global Virtual Teams?
- Guide to leading and managing distributed teams
- Getting Virtual Teams Right
- Introverts at Work: Designing Spaces for People Who Hate Open-Plan Offices
- How to get the most out of employees who work from home
- How to manage employees who work from home
- How to manage a distributed development team
- Managing Remote Developer Teams: How Buffer Set the Gold Standard - Interview with Katie Womersley
- What Is the Best Compensation Model?
Surveys and data
- The Remote Work Report by GitLab: The Future of Work is Remote
- Sike Insights — EQ & Remote Managers Report
- Slack — A new guide for adapting to a radically different workplace
- Gartner CFO Survey Reveals 74% Intend to Shift Some Employees to Remote Work Permanently
- Headlamp — The Manager’s Guide to Engaging Remote Workers
- IBM Study: COVID-19 Is Significantly Altering U.S. Consumer Behavior and Plans Post-Crisis
- Why remote work has grown by 159% since 2005
- Greenhouse: Distributed hiring and remote working – The essential guide
- Google spent 2 years researching what makes a great remote team
- State of Remote Work 2021 by Buffer
- The IWG Global Workspace Survey - Welcome to Generation Flex
- 5 Important Takeaways From Google’s Two-Year Study Of Remote Work
- Study: Adding 20 Minutes to Your Commute Makes You as Miserable as Getting a 19 Percent Pay Cut
- Remote Work 2020 Survey by Remote.Tools
- Is Working Remotely Effective? Gallup Research Says Yes
Videos, interviews, presentations
- LinkedIn’s 2019 Global Talent Trends report
- Things I Wish I Knew Before Going Remote by Marla Brizel Zeschin
- Bond Internet Trends 2019: Remote work = creating internet-enabled work opportunities + efficiencies
- Work Remotely: Thrive in a Job From Home
- TechSAV’s Brown Bag Series: Working & Managing Remote
Threads and conversations
- We Work Remotely Slack community
- #remotechat - remote-focused Twitter chat every Wednesday
- Tweet thread about downsides of remote work
- HackerNews thread about remote work literature
Tools that enable remote teams
Here’s a list of the tools we use internally at GitLab, with details on how we use them.
Elaine Z., investor at SignalFire, compiled an excellent summary of tools for remote teams to consider. Others are shared below.
Communication
- Slack - chat
- Zoom - video calls
- Google Workspace
- Jamm - Synchronous and asynchronous voice and video collaboration for remote teams
- Yac - asynchronous voice collaboration for remote team
- 8x8 - unified communications (video, VoIP, etc.)
Design and collaboration
Handbook and company-wide documentation
Empathy, culture, and team-building
- Sike Insights Kona - team personality, mood, and morale insights
Management
- GitLab Issues
- GitLab Pages
- Qatalog - work hub syncing multiple tools and services
- Range - team collaboration and management
- There - quick time zone reference for your global team
- Buildstack - an operating system and unified inbox for teams
Meetings
Events, meetups, gatherings
Co-working, communal workspaces, and third spaces
Remote work enables individuals and teams to create and contribute in places other than a home or conventional office. Many are familiar with WeWork and Regus, where a desk or office is available to rent. Post-COVID, leaders are recognizing the need to support the third space — a workplace that isn’t one’s home, and isn’t an office.
Some organizations (like GitLab) provide stipends or reimbursement as a matter of inclusivity and productivity. Not every home is amenable to remote work, and not everyone is comfortable working in a traditional office. These communal workspaces provide the energy and camaraderie of working in-person as a group, with the flexibility of being near one’s home (and in turn, avoiding a commute).
- Codi (residential coworking spaces in neighborhoods that matter to you)
- Switchyards (neighborhood work clubs)
Organizations for traveling remote work
- Remote Year
- Wifi Tribe
- Hacker Paradise
- Co-work Paradise
- Project Getaway
- B-Digital Nomad
- Remote Work Association
Guides for remote work
- The Holloway Guide to Remote Work
- Google’s Distributed Work Playbook
- The Art of Working Remotely
- Twist’s Remote Work Guides
- Remote Habits
- 35 of the best Slack communities for remote workers
- Toggl’s Guide to Working With Clients You’ve Never Met Face-to-Face
Contribute to this page
At GitLab, we recognize that the whole idea of all-remote organizations is still quite new, and can only be successful with active participation from the whole community. Here’s how you can participate:
- Propose or suggest any change to this site by creating a merge request.
- Create an issue if you have any questions or if you see an inconsistency.
- Help spread the word about all-remote organizations by sharing it on social media.
Return to the main all-remote page.
Last modified July 10, 2024: Fix broken links and spelling (
680a0bc8)
