Fortnightly cycle

Based on feedback to a previous blog entry it seems that a fortnightly cycle of alternating one week at the office and one week remote offers a preferred work/life balance approach in terms of logistics, cost and face-to-face interaction.

Alternating social interactions and focus time

At the office we can meet and integrate new team members, collaborate face-to-face on projects and support each other with tips and techniques for using the technology at hand. Working remote provides an opportunity to buckle down and concentrate on the tasks before us.

Agile compatibility

The fortnightly model provides a full week of face-to-face to overlap, supporting team interaction, and workload planning, which are a couple of the major selling points for Agile methodology. The full week of remote work gives team members the opportunity to focus, away from the open office area buzz.

Work/life balance

Parents prefer the fortnightly model since they save on average 2 hours day on their commute, allowing them the flexibility of seeing the kids off to school in the morning and being there when they get home from school. Whether a single-parent or two-parent household, parents can share a monthly transit pass or parking spot, reduce commute time and be there for the kids.

Processing time

Additionally, as a memory researcher I can add that alternating weeks at work supports memory processing. Like beads on a string, a sufficient gap between the different environments allows to us process new information and learn new procedures. A change is as good as a rest, and the weekly switchover allows sufficient time to soak up the benefits of both scenarios.