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2021/05/11

Work From (Almost) Anywhere: How Evernote Has Embraced the Future of Remote Work

As a member of our Evernote community, you’ve seen us share plenty of “behind the scenes” updates. Usually they’re focused on the product—improvements we’ve made and new features we’ve added. Today, we’d like to do something different and focus on our people—how the past year has affected them and how we as a company have adapted to change. Consider it a behind the behind the scenes, if you will.

How it started

Like so many companies around the world, Evernote sent all of its employees home in March 2020 and, more than a year later, the Notable Herd (as we affectionately call ourselves) is still working from home. By and large, it’s going well. We’ve released new clients for Mac, Windows, iOS, and Android; brand-new features such as Home; and we’re continuing to work on the next generation of Evernote apps—all while 100-percent remote.

This leap into the unknown has been so successful, in fact, that we’ve decided to embrace—permanently—parts of the remote work experience that have proven effective for us.

How it’s going

As the weeks of pandemic lockdown turned into months, some of the Herd told us they were interested in relocating to other parts of the country. For some, it meant the opportunity to move closer to extended families—for help with childcare or to care for a loved one. For others, it enabled them to enjoy a lower cost of living, or simply a change of pace. Rather than discourage this, we understood and supported their desire for more flexibility. Now, with more than a year of experience, we can see the many benefits of remote work, even in a post-pandemic world. That’s why we’ve decided to embrace the change with these initiatives: 

Work From (Almost) Anywhere

Work From (Almost) Anywhere is a new Evernote program where U.S. employees can opt to work from just about anywhere in the country, whether or not we have a physical office nearby. Not only does this give current employees the freedom to continue their careers with Evernote independently of where they choose to live, it allows us to recruit the best candidates for any role from anywhere. Right now, we have 30 positions we’re actively looking to fill, including 20 in Engineering. Work from (Almost) Anywhere opens up the hiring pool, giving us a better chance of finding exactly the right person for each one.

For now, this program is only available in the U.S., but we’ll soon roll out a similar program for our Chile-based Herd.

Working from our offices

We’ve also learned that remote work isn’t for everyone. While many companies are ditching offices entirely, we’ve made clear to our teams that Evernote is not going “full remote.” We’ll continue to maintain offices in the places where we do now—the San Francisco Bay Area, Austin, San Diego, Bothell, Santiago, Viña del Mar, Tokyo, and Delhi—and we’re looking forward to opening them all as soon as conditions make it safe to do so. 

Over time, our offices will likely change to adapt to the way that our teams are using them—to keep everyone safe, to better accommodate collaboration between in-office and remote employees, and to include more flexible spaces for working and socializing. But the option to work in an office setting will always be there for those who want it. Like our mascot, Mads the elephant, the Notable Herd is a close and very social group!

Flexible Remote

Some of us want it all, and the post-pandemic office version of that is what we at Evernote call Flexible Remote. Flexible Remote allows members of the Herd to split their time between in-office and working from home, to get the benefits of both. We’ve always enjoyed a fair amount of flexibility to work remotely, but now we’ve made it official: at Evernote, you can set the in-office schedule that works for you.

Doubling down on wellness

While the Herd transitioned to remote work with remarkable agility, we know that the last year (and then some) hasn’t been easy. While Evernote has always emphasized the health and welfare of our employees, we’ve expanded our wellness programs during remote work and will continue them in a post-pandemic world. 

Over the last year, we launched Wellness Weekends, where the entire company enjoys a 3- or 4-day weekend, to rest and recharge, and added mental health benefits such as coaches and therapists for our employees and their families. We’ve also continued our most popular programs, like a $1,000 annual vacation stipend that actually pays people to not come to work, and our Wellness Reimbursement program, where every employee can spend up to $1,200 a year on their own health and wellness.

What comes next?

The last year has been, among other things, a massive unplanned experiment in remote work, and the programs we’ve described here were borne out of that experience. We see them as first steps in what is likely to be a significant evolution in the post-pandemic workplace, and we know that we have more work to do. 

For example, one reason the last year went as well as it did for our teams is likely because the entire Notable Herd (and a lot of the world around us) was all working remotely at the same time. We’ll need behaviors and tools that allow us to continue working well together when some of us are in an office and others are remote, to name just one ongoing challenge. But, much like Evernote the product, Evernote the company will continue to grow and change to meet the world around us.

We’re grateful for the resilience of the Notable Herd, and to have you, our community of users, with us on this journey. It’s been a challenging year, but we’re committed to growth and we know that brighter days lay ahead. 

We’re proud of our people, and invite you to consider joining the Notable Herd and bringing your skills to Evernote. In addition to the programs above, Evernote offers generous benefits and great perks, all while working on a product that helps millions of people get more done every day. Check out our careers page to find the role that’s right for you.