How We’re Spreading Joy + Relief in a Virtual Work World

Also, how my parents became my collaborators.

Flashback to June of last year: The world was completely falling apart, as was my mental state. I desperately needed some in-person interaction and a real crew beyond my lovely Zoom room colleagues and friends. I packed up my new standing workstation, my MacBook, and some clothes from my one-bedroom apartment in downtown Nashville and headed 12 hours north to rural Wisconsin to take in a few weeks of rest and work at my sister’s house, just a few miles from our parents. I ended up staying for nine months. While at times I didn’t know how to cook for a family of five and I still don’t understand TikTok, I learned that as much as I want to, I can’t always fly solo.

I may be as introverted as they come, but we all need someone at some point.

At Stoked, we embrace our deep need to connect with each other on a human level. One way we infuse our usual spirit of hugs, high fives and in-person connections into our virtual client experiences is to deliver a care package to the doorstep of each participant before the project kickoff. In this era of at-home isolation, these boxes have proven to be vital in forging togetherness.

My role is to customize an array of print materials, colorful snacks, home office tools, handwritten cards, happy hour kits and anything else that can immerse our participants into their project work. 

As I was describing these boxes to my retired parents one day, they insisted on making it a team effort, setting up our packing HQ at their house, with my childhood bedroom as the storage room. Weird? At that point, not really. The pandemic had altered my perspective on normalcy. My dad became the lookout for Fedex, UPS, and USPS, while my mom organized all the goods and tied way too many things up with twine. When it was box-packing time, we set aside days to focus and crank them out like a well-oiled machine. The amount of love and perfection I watched them pour into a box for a total stranger was incredible. 

Together, we’ve shipped somewhere between 800-900 boxes. 

My folks claim that these (not so little) projects gave them a purpose during a time they desperately needed one. Being able to give them that purpose while working on something together was the quiet joy I never expected, but most certainly needed. 

Back in Nashville, my family of collaborators have been replaced by Logan, our Head of Ops, Brent, one of our Client Leads, and LaunchTN, our new friendly neighbors sharing the studio. The bustling sounds of never-ending growth in this city take the place of the peaceful stillness of the country, reminding me it’s time to pick up the pace again. The wooden closet of my childhood bedroom has been replaced by a steel utilitarian set of shelves for storing supplies. And although returning back to my past setup may be more conducive to productivity, I realize that I need so much more from my work life than just that. Joy and relief at work comes from the people you surround yourself with, and an appreciation for the small in between moments. It’s the collective idea that even in times of doubt and uncertainty, we take on the world as a team.