
Confessions of a Remote Workaholic: 10 Work-Life Balance Techniques I’m Trying This Winter
It’s funny how a small question can draw attention to a big problem. Last week, our CEO, Milena, asked me point blank, “How is your work-life balance?” I stammered, then blurted out a list of things I do on the regular to tilt the scales heavily toward the work side.
PowerToFly was founded to help women achieve their desired work-life balance. Even though it is a fast-paced startup, and though I am a responsibility-hoarding Product Manager, and though I have chided myself for not leaving my apartment building for days at a stretch, I never realized I was the one who had to take ownership of enforcing the boundaries. Even more so because I work remotely.
Make no mistake: I love what I do, which is why I tend to rack up the hours. But I also love my friends, family, hobbies, and well-being. It’s not a Harry Potter/Voldemort situation here though. I feel most fulfilled when everything is in sync.
Here are the ten actions I’m taking to recalibrate.
1. Enforce working hours
Working remotely allows the flexibility to squeeze in personal time during the workday, but I’ve also let work permeate every crevasse of my personal space. When I was in school, I always felt homework looming over my head. I couldn’t be anywhere in my home without feeling the guilt of not tending to it, even if it was already done! I often procrastinate or work less efficiently because I feel like I have unlimited work time. Most days, this lack of boundaries has me replying to JIRA tickets right before bed! Not good.
If you’re having work-life balance problems like I am, sometimes you have to pull back and put yourself on a stricter schedule with your business hours. My day starts with an 8am standup, so I’m going to call it quits no later than 6pm, ideally by 5:30. This will force me to prioritize harder and work smarter during the contiguous hours I have available. And by making post-work hours a safe time at home, I can relax once I stop for the day.
2. Put away work stuff after work
Out of sight, out of mind. I’m more likely to get sucked back into work if I spot my Moleskine lying in plain view on the dining table. And when I open my computer, even just to go onto Facebook, any open Google Doc tabs will beckon me to pick up where I left off.
So I’m going to close up shop for the day (or weekend), physically and digitally. I’ll pack up my work stuff and put it neatly in a corner. I’ll close all work-related tabs in Chrome. I’ll also turn off notifications: I’ll sign out of Skype and put Slack on snooze (which can always be overridden by colleagues in an emergency) before closing it, too.
3. Timebox weekend toil
Sometimes urgent matters come up, so there has to be a way of differentiating between a legitimate need for extra hours and a needless encroachment on my weekend. Therefore, I’ve resolved to work on the weekend only if the following criteria are met:
- It can’t be delegated
- Other people depend on it to be done by Monday
- It can’t wait until next week
If I do decide to work on the weekend, I’ll set an upper limit on the number of hours I’m willing to put in, and stop when I’ve reached it. And if I find myself working more than one weekend day a month, I’ll raise a flag with my manager.
4. Separate commingled work and personal applications
The boundary between work and your personal life can start to blur if you manage both with the same technology. Luckily I’ve avoided combining my work and personal gmail and Google Apps, but I do have one big culprit: my to-do list. I am a huge believer in TeuxDeux and had been using it long before I joined PowerToFly. But when I joined the team, I just added all my work tasks, separated from personal by a heading called Work. Here’s an example (except add 15 more tasks for a typical day):
What this means is when I’m in work mode, I’m looking at personal to-dos, and when I’m on my own time, my work to-dos are still staring me in the face! So I’m going to untangle my commingled accounts pronto, and never look back.
5. Get *more* dressed
I don’t stay in pajamas all day, but I do love to work in yoga crops and sweatshirts I only wear around the house. Problem is, if I don’t feel like I’m presentable enough to leave the house, I probably won’t. But on days I dress to go out, I feel better and more in work mode.
Comfy leggings be damned — every day, I’ll get dressed to the point where I’d be willing to leave the house in my present state. I’ll save the track pants for quitting time.
6. Get out of the house (duh!)
This is an obvious one. But I live in a building with a gym and cook my meals at home, so it can be easy to come up with an excuse not to go out, especially on an overcast winter day. But not leaving the house can drive you nuts; just look at Jack Nicholson in The Shining.
I’m setting a rule to leave the house for at least an hour a day on weekdays (and as much as I can on weekends).
7. Work *away* from home
Despite what the Fifth Harmony song says, there’s a lot of ways to work from home without working in your home. I used to cowork, but recently canceled my membership. I lauded myself for saving money, but in exchange, I need to care more about my mental health, and for me that means not freaking out about spending money to work from coffee shops, even if a soy latte costs $5.
I’ll schedule transit times in my schedule to go to and from a coffee shop on days when I don’t have a lot of meetings. I can get out of the house and work at the same time, even if it’s only for a few hours.
8. Schedule lunch breaks–including a walk
On days I don’t power through lunch, I just make a quick meal, eat it, and get immediately back to the grind. But I’m literally wasting my federally mandated paid half-hour off!
I’m going to schedule a proper lunch break every day, and after I eat, go for a postprandial stroll. It’ll clear my head and help me come up with even better ideas.
9. Look for opportunities to do walking meetings
Usually the computer is required for meetings, but even if one in ten can be taken via phone (every app we use can handle this — GoToMeeting, Skype, or Slack), I can kill two birds with one stone and get some fresh air while I walk. I’d be in good company: walking meetings have been an asset to history’s greatest minds, from Socrates to Steve Jobs.
I’ll look in my schedule for meetings for which I’m just listening in, don’t need to take notes, or won’t need to reference visual aides — and use those as opportunities to take a walk instead of staying put.
10. Stand up every hour
The last one is super simple: stand up more — every hour — and stretttttttttch! This is especially important toward the end of the day. I can’t say how many times I glance up at the clock to realize I’ve been glued to my chair for hours! There’s even an app to help establish this habit: Time Out. You can set the frequency and duration of the breaks, the opacity of the screen, and even what song you’d like to hear. If you’re in a meeting, you can always snooze or skip it.
While I’m taking my stretch, I’m also going to drink water! It’s hard to stay hydrated when you’re hyperfocused on a screen, but dehydration can be as bad for your efficiency (and health) as lack of sleep.
And there you have it! Ten steps I’m taking over the next few months to keep my work time efficient and my personal time personal. I’ll check in come spring to let you know how I’ve done, and you can keep score for yourself, too. By the next time I write, I hope to be flipping like Simone Biles along the work-life balance beam!
Pride: Celebrating LGBTQIA+ Leaders and Allies | Learn More About Our Speakers and Sponsors
Thank you so much for attending the June event in our 2022 Diversity Reboot Series, Pride: Championing LGBTQIA+ Leaders and Allies.
This three-day event was packed with great talks, amazing speakers, and was fully made possible by our wonderful sponsors.
Thank You To Our Sponsors:
Featured Topics Included:
- Transitioning As A College Athlete
- Asexuality: The Overlooked Letter in the Acronym
- The Military of the Future is Trans-Inclusive
- Supporting Queer People in Rural Communities
- A Leader, an Ally...What Does That Mean?
- Investigating The Intersection of LGBTQIA+ and Disability
Check out some of the work from our amazing speakers:
- Decolonizing Wealth by Edgar Villanueva
- The Educator’s Guide to LGBT+ Inclusion by Dr. Kryss Shane, MS, MSW, LSW, LMSW (she/her)
As part of our summit, PowerToFly was honored to make donations to the following organizations:
Careers in Web Development: Which One's For You?
We all have our favorite websites– the ones we frequent, bookmark, and recommend to others. You might even enjoy some website features so much that you’ve found yourself wondering why they aren’t more popular. Or maybe you’ve experienced times where you were frustrated with a website and wished you could add features or even design your own!
If you’ve ever found yourself intrigued at the prospect of designing and developing your own websites, then a career as a web developer might be just for you!
As a web developer you would be responsible for coding, designing, optimizing, and maintaining websites. Today, there are over 1.7 billion websites in the world and, in turn, the demand for web developers is on the rise. In order to figure out what kind of web development work best suits you let’s start with an introduction to the three main roles in web development that you can choose from.
The Three Types of Web Development Jobs
Front-End Web Development: The Creative Side
Think of front-end development as the décor of a house. The color scheme, furniture, manicured lawns, and overall aesthetic. In terms of a website, front-end development is laser-focused on the appearance of a website and its presentation on different devices. If you’re considering a role in front-end development, it’s important to learn programming languages such as HTML, CSS, and JavaScript. These three languages go hand-in-hand. HTML allows you to create user interface elements, CSS helps you with stylistic elements, and JavaScript allows you to incorporate online tools and connect your website to back-end functions.
In addition to programming skills, front-end developers need to be detail oriented, creative, willing to keep up with the latest trends in web development, cyber security conscious, and geared toward user-friendly designs. The median salary for a front-end developer can reach well into the $90,000 to $100,000 range.
Back-End Web Development: The Logical Counterpart
While a house can be beautifully decorated, it’s incomplete without a solid foundation and efficient infrastructure. Similarly, a well-designed website depends on logical and functional code to power the features of that website. Back-end web development is code-heavy and focused on the specifics of how a website works. If you enjoy the analytical challenge of creating the behind-the-scenes code that powers a website, then back-end development is for you.
Since this role is more code-heavy, it’s important that you learn numerous programming languages and understand algorithms and data structures. Some languages that are essential to back-end development are Ruby, Python, SQL, and JavaScript. Back-end developers also ensure that users can successfully retrieve and access data. This requires creating and using APIs (Application Programming Interfaces) which act as messengers that relay data related requests. Additionally, developing the code for the inner workings of a website also requires back-end developers to be conscious of the user interface features designed by front-end developers and to internally mitigate potential security risks. Due to the increased technical aspect of this position, back-end developers normally earn higher salaries than front-end developers. The average median salary for this role is around $118,000 per year.
Full-Stack Web Development: A Little Bit of Everything
A full-stack developer is essentially the Jack (or Jill)-of-all-trades in web development. Full-stack developers need to be knowledgeable about both front-end and back-end roles. This does not necessarily imply that you would need to be an expert in both roles, but you should fully understand the different applications and synergies they each imply. In order to work in this position, you will need to know the programming languages used by front-end and back-end developers. In addition to these languages, full-stack developers also specialize in databases, storage, HTTP, REST, and web architecture.
Full-stack developers are often required to act as liaisons between front-end and back-end developers. Full-stack developers need to be both problem solvers and great communicators. The end goal for a full-stack developer is to ensure that the user’s experience is seamless, both on the front-end and on the back-end. In return, you can expect to earn a median salary of $100,000 – $115,000 a year for this role.
Taking the Next Step
Web development is both in-demand and lucrative! All three roles described above contribute to specific aspects of web development and the scope of each one can be customized to the industries and positions you feel best suit you. Regardless of which role you choose, all of them need a foundation in programming.
To gain the programming skills needed in each role, you can enroll in courses or learn independently. Coding bootcamps are a great way to boost your skillset quickly and efficiently.
Click here for some of our highly rated programming bootcamp options! Make sure to check out the discounts available to PowerToFly members.
40 Companies Making Positive Environmental Impact
Environmentally Friendly and Sustainable Companies
Sustainability is more important now than ever.
Companies use huge amounts of our planet’s resources, and they in turn have huge impacts — positive and negative ones. While a few generations ago, it seemed as if the Earth’s resources were infinite, we now know how false that is.
That’s why it’s critical that sustainability be at the integral to a company’s makeup, prioritizing protecting the resources we do have left and having positive impacts on the environment.
We asked some of our partner companies to share what they do to promote positive environmental impact and sustainability. For some of them, solving environmental issues is part of their core DNA and others have taken on initiatives outside of their own business objectives to leave the world a better place than how they found it. Keep reading to hear what they said!
Collins Aerospace —
As a leader in technologically advanced and intelligent solutions for the global aerospace and defense industry, Collins Aerospace is in a unique position to make a positive impact on sustainable aviation. We innovate for – and with – our customers to drive more sustainable solutions.
Collins Aerospace has joined in the Fly Net Zero commitment announced in October 2021 by the Air Transport Action Group (ATAG) and the International Air Transport Association (IATA). As an active supporter of the industry’s goal to achieve net-zero civil aviation carbon emissions by 2050, our commitment is stronger than ever. At Collins our sustainability roadmap focuses on three pillars:
1. Engagement with our stakeholders - our customers, suppliers, shareholders, communities and employees – to collaboratively set the standards for a sustainable future of the aviation industry in terms of Environmental, Social & Governance (ESG) performance.
2. Our Technology Roadmap focusing on innovative and disruptive solutions to improve aircraft energy and operational efficiency and to enable alternative power sources, in particular Sustainable Aviation Fuels (SAF), hydrogen and hybrid-/electric propulsion.
3. Our Industrial Road Map focusing on sustainable production and products – including GHG reductions through energy efficiency and use of green energies, substitution or reduction of chemical substances, reduction of water consumption as well as recycling and waste management.
For more information please refer to our website at https://www.collinsaerospace.com/Sustainability
Learn more about Collins Aerospace here.
Okta —
Okta’s climate strategy is focused on reducing emissions in 4 ways: reducing consumption, electrification, purchasing renewable electricity to match 100% of our global office and workforce electricity consumption, and engaging our vendors, as over 90% of our emissions are from our value chain. We strive to incorporate equity into our work. For example, we purchase renewable energy certificates (RECs) with a social benefit, such as CA Bright Schools Solar and energy justice RECs - community solar that reduces electricity costs for low-income residents via Solar Stewards.
To learn more, check out our January 2022 blog, and our webpage.
Learn more about Okta here.
Vanguard —
Established in 2012, Vanguard's community gardens are planted, maintained, and harvested by crew volunteers who donate the produce raised to local food banks, pantries, and centers.
Gardens in Pennsylvania and Arizona raise a variety of produce, including tomatoes, peppers, spinach, lettuce, zucchini, carrots, and eggplant.
In addition, the community garden teams host periodic garden parties, workshops, and cooking demonstrations, where crew can learn more about what is being planted, ask questions about their own personal gardens, and network with other volunteers. All produce is grown organically, so there are opportunities to learn the latest in organic agriculture.
Learn more about Vanguard here.
Nokia —
Sustainability is a key component of Nokia’s strategy and purpose of creating technology that helps the world act together. We believe digitalization and connectivity solutions are critical to resolving many of the global problems facing society.
We take a two-pronged approach. We maximize our handprint while minimizing our footprint across environmental and social issues, supported by robust governance and responsible and ethical business practices.
We realize we cannot do this alone, and we call for accelerated digitalization and enhanced connectivity, greater multi-party, multi-discipline collaboration and the establishment of sustainable platforms that encourage innovation.
Learn more about Nokia here.
Enersys —
EnerSys is the global leader in stored energy solutions for industrial applications and has been for over 100 years. At our core, EnerSys delivers solutions that meet our customers’ most critical energy services and storage challenges. We also enable our customers to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions and provide affordable and reliable access to energy – often referred to as “climate technology.” Our products support a wide range of industries and applications, from ensuring the reliability of broadband in rural communities to powering submarines and satellites to the manufacture and distribution of food supplies and critical health infrastructure.
Learn more about Enersys here.
Google —
At Google, we are celebrating the opening of our Bay View office — an all-electric, net water positive campus with the largest geothermal installation in North America. To deliver on our commitment to operate every hour of every day on carbon-free energy by 2030, we prioritized renewable energy and maximized the solar potential of our buildings. Bay View’s first-of-its-kind dragonscale solar skin and nearby wind farms will power it on carbon-free energy 90% of the time. The campus is also on track to be the largest project certified by the International Living Future Institute (ILFI).
Learn more about how we applied human-centered and sustainable design to the workplace.
Learn more about Google here.
Waters Corporation —
Waters has committed to reducing its Scope 1&2 greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) 35% from a 2016 baseline by 2025. As part of this commitment, we are increasing our use of renewable energy, phasing hybrid and electric vehicles into our service fleet, and incorporating green building principles into our facilities management practices. We are also taking steps to measure and reduce the environmental impact of our products, our packaging, and our supply chain. In addition, we encourage our employees around the world to be sustainability leaders in their communities. For more information, please see our most recent Sustainability Report.
Learn more about Waters Corporation here.
Pluralsight —
As a global company, Pluralsight is committed to positive corporate citizenship and to continuously improving efficiency as we scale. We’ve implemented several initiatives that will help reduce our carbon footprint, including new remote/hybrid work policies and we’ve recently signed a climate pledge that sets us on the path to becoming carbon neutral. Through this pledge we plan to set clear greenhouse gas (GHG) annual reduction targets and also invest in ways to proactively offset the balance of our GHG emissions to achieve net zero. This plan will also support our team members in their involvement in local sustainability initiatives.
Learn more about Pluralsight here.
Expedia Group —
In 2019, Expedia Group partnered with UNESCO to create the UNESCO Sustainable Travel Pledge which aims to promote sustainable travel, community resilience and heritage conservation globally. Signatories can learn about sustainable practices for their business, and together we can drive positive change in the travel industry for future travelers. The UNESCO Pledge now has 4,200 hotels committed to concrete, transparent and achievable action.
Learn more about Expedia Group here.
UKG —
At UKG, we care deeply about our environmental impact and our responsibility to take care of the world in which we live and work. Our primary environmental impacts relate to our own energy consumption, as well as the energy consumption of UKG hardware products, our business travel, and the consumption of natural resources through our activities and procurement processes. Our recent and ongoing efforts to reduce our environmental footprint, including both our own corporate output and the sustainability and environmental practices of our trusted suppliers and vendors, are a critical component of our ESG Initiative.
Learn more about UKG here.
CDW —
CDW is committed to protecting the environment by continuing to find ways to manage our business with increasing efficiency and understanding the full extent of our environmental impact.
Our efforts include participating in multiple electronics recycling programs, consistently meeting and exceeding our waste diversion goal of 90% at our US distribution centers, and implementing smart packaging solutions that maximize both product protection and material efficiencies.
We also recognize that our greatest opportunities to impact the environment lie in our supply chain and our ability to work with our partners to address issues such as climate change and waste reduction. For example, more than 75% of our US shipments are handled by carriers with Net Zero emissions targets.
https://www.cdw.com/content/cdw/en/about/overview/esg2021/environmental.html
Learn more about CDW here.
Moody’s —
At Moody’s, we are doing our part to protect the environment and tackle climate change. We are committed to achieving net-zero emissions in our operations and value chain by 2040 – 10 years earlier than the Paris Agreement goals – and to aligning our relevant products and services to net-zero. We also offer market participants climate solutions to help them better understand the risks and opportunities presented by climate change and the transition to a low-carbon economy. Learn more about Moody’s efforts and progress in our 2021 Stakeholder Sustainability Report and 2021 TCFD Report.
Learn more about Moody’s here.
Wolters Kluwer —
At Wolters Kluwer we’re not only helping our customers create a safer, cleaner world - we’re doing it ourselves!
In 2021, Wolters Kluwer launched a sustainability program called ENGAGE and to celebrate the contributions employees made, this year we held the Global Sustainability Awards.
Colleagues in our Enablon business won an award for partnering with volunteer organisations around the globe including Chicago Region Tree Initiative in the US, SUPclean-up in the Netherlands, and the Calthorpe Community Garden in the UK.
80 Enablon volunteers spent more than 300 hours planting trees and clearing litter from waterways and beaches, helping raise awareness across Wolters Kluwer of the importance of sustainable practices while giving back to local communities.
Learn more about Wolters Kluwer here.
Novelis —
As the world’s largest recycler of aluminum, sustainability is implicit in everything we do at Novelis. Our ambition is to be the world’s leading provider of low-carbon, sustainable aluminum solutions that advance our business, industry and society toward the benefits of a circular economy. We’re guided by our sustainability goals, which will ultimately lead to a reduction in energy intensity, a reduction in water use, and a reduction of waste sent to landfills by 2026. Cultivating a diverse and engaged employee base will be our greatest enabler in achieving these goals.
Learn more about Novelis here.
Sun Life —
Sun Life views climate change as a defining issue of our time. We’re working to address climate change and supporting the transition to a low-carbon economy. We have set a goal to achieve net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050 for both our investments and operations. We're also committed to integrating climate strategies across our businesses and working collaboratively with our Clients, stakeholders, and the industry at large, towards this common goal.
To help us expand on our commitments and strategies, Sun Life recently appointed Paula Haschig as our new Vice-President, Climate Change. Learn more in our latest Sustainability Report.
Learn more about Sun Life here.
Splunk —
Key to solving the world’s most pressing issues: climate, health equity, poverty, racial justice, and education, is data.
With customers around the globe, Splunk is uniquely positioned to help solve some of the world’s toughest challenges.
Splunk has committed to achieve net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050 and we are proud to advance our climate journey with a data-driven approach, building on our support for the Paris agreement.
Splunk is a proud signatory to the Business Ambition for 1.5° Campaign, and part of the UN Climate Champions’ Race to Zero Campaign and the We Mean Business Coalition.
#SplunkLife
Learn more about Splunk here.
GoTo —
GoTo is committed to maintaining carbon neutrality. Our permanent move to a remote-centric workforce has reduced Greenhouse Gas (GHG) emissions across all scopes. To account for the shift in our employees’ work locations, we purchase certified offsets for the emissions they generate during work hours, both in the office or at home, as well as for necessary corporate travel. We also procure 100% renewable electricity for our global operations by purchasing Green-e certified RECs to match our global electricity usage. Our data centers have high ratings from Greenpeace and we engage our global employees through our Global Green Team.
Learn more about GoTo here.
Raytheon Technologies —
As part of Raytheon Technologies’ Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) vision, Raytheon Intelligence & Space (RI&S) is working toward ambitious goals to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, conserve energy and water, minimize waste, and increase renewable electricity by 2025. Our ESG strategy guides all that we do, and particularly emphasizes purposeful connections with community. For example, over the past year RI&S has participated in various events like community clean-ups in McKinney, Texas; a food bank packing line in Plano, Texas; an Earth Day plant seed swap in Goleta, California; and a leadership team clean-up at the Santa Barbara Zoo.
Learn more about Raytheon Technologies here.
Autodesk —
From greener buildings to cleaner cars, smarter factories to bigger blockbusters, Autodesk technology is used by millions of people to design and make millions of things that impact billions of lives.
At Autodesk, sustainability is about making that impact positive across three impact opportunity areas: Energy & Materials, Health & Resilience, Work & Prosperity.
All this begins by being a better business ourselves. When we improve the impact of our own operations, we gain the knowledge and credibility to help our customers improve theirs. And by building a culture of belonging, together we thrive.
Learn more about Autodesk here.
PagerDuty —
We take a very broad view of sustainability and social impact, with our environmental focus rooted in both our climate responsibility and systemic, environmental justice concerns. Last year we launched our climate justice grantmaking program; with input from our EnviroDuty affinity group, we selected four incredible climate justice organizations to support: Earth Guardians, Earth Hacks, The Solutions Project, and OpenAQ. We are also taking our own responsibility seriously, reporting our first greenhouse gas inventories and preparing to set targets in line with the global need to limit warming to 1.5°C to meet the goals of the Paris Agreement.
Learn more about PagerDuty here.
American Express —
American Express is committed to advancing climate solutions and enhancing its operations and capabilities to meet customer and community needs in the transition to a low carbon future. In 2021, the company committed to net-zero emissions by 2035 and has been CarbonNeutral® powered by 100% renewable electricity across its global operations since 2018. The company set a goal to pilot low-carbon product innovations and is making new digital products and services available to help customers understand their carbon footprint. To support climate action through community giving, the company will provide at least $10 million by 2025 to backing low-carbon communities.
Learn more about American Express here.
Esri —
At Esri, we believe that it is everyone’s duty as global citizens to protect our world’s resources. As a business, Esri practices sustainability by operating on solar power in many of its buildings, using electric cars for corporate vehicles, providing EV charging stations for employees, donating and planting trees in the community, and more. Some of Esri’s key initiatives are conservation and sustainability. Influencing and partnering with customers to build a sustainable future through geographic information system (GIS) technology is what drives us. You can read more about these initiatives at https://www.esri.com/en-us/about/about-esri/why-we-do-it.
Learn more about Esri here.
Pitney Bowes —
In 2021, Pitney Bowes was named a Climate Leadership Award winner. We have committed to be carbon-neutral in our operations by 2040. We are also proud to announce that we have increased our share of electricity from renewable sources such as wind and solar power.
Learn more about Pitney Bowes here
BlackRock —
BlackRock has a multi-pronged strategy to address climate-related risks and promote positive environmental impact. One commitment that we’re proud of is The BlackRock Foundation's recent commitment of $100 million to Breakthrough Energy's Catalyst Program, which will help accelerate the development of climate solutions necessary to achieve net zero emissions by 2050.
In addition to our strategies as an asset manager and as a company, our people play an important role in creating and leading sustainability within our offices. Our Green Team Network is responsible for stewarding conservation efforts throughout our offices and within the communities in which we operate. The 49 teams organize activities including elimination of single use plastics, rebuilding our local ecosystems, taking personal responsibility for our own net zero journeys, matching donation opportunities, educating all employees on climate and environmental issues, and so much more!
Join us as we provide financial security and overall well-being of people and communities around the world.
Learn more about BlackRock here.
Kiva —
We loan because… we want the world to be a better place
At Kiva, our mission is to connect people through lending to alleviate poverty, and this mission extends beyond just financial poverty. We aim to help increase access to basic services as well, from clean water and sanitation, to getting sustainable energy in homes. Green loans on Kiva help borrowers switch to environmentally friendly products that reduce pollution, promote sustainable practices and help families succeed. Read more about this HERE
Made of individual kiva lenders who are concerned about the environmental impacts of their loans, this is a forum to notify each other of environmentally sustainable loans that are needing funding. Sustainable development projects include recycling, solar, re-use, organic agriculture, health, etc.
Learn more about Kiva here.
Cummins —
Cummins is committed to powering a healthier environment, stronger communities, and robust and inclusive economies. Our PLANET 2050 environmental sustainability strategy, and our Destination Zero™ product strategy are driven by decarbonization and circular economic principles that promote economic growth while using fewer of the world's resources.
Learn more about Cummins here.
1Password —
Finding new ways to help the planet and the people around us is some of the most important work we do at 1Password. This year, in celebration of Earth Day and giving back, we partnered with Evertreen and sponsored the planting of 10,000 trees. Additionally, in support of the Sustainable Ocean Alliance sending hundreds of youth to the UN Ocean Conference Youth and Innovation Forum, we created custom reusable tote bags for each attendee. We also participated in a water bottle giveaway in partnership with Ocean Bottle, with one reusable bottle preventing 1000 plastic bottles from entering the ocean. We know there is always more to do to support our planet, and we're excited to continue doing the work alongside these partners.
Learn more about 1Password here.
Samsara —
Samsara is in a unique position where we help our customers to be more efficient, safe, and sustainable by delivering actionable insights that improve their operations.
“Our customers keep the world running. Our solutions help them digitize their operations so that they can cut greenhouse gas emissions, reduce safety and security incidents, and make the world a better place.” - Sarah Patterson, CMO at Samsara
For example, a transportation solutions customer saw a 50% reduction in vehicle idling and a 2% increase in fuel efficiency—resulting in 150,000 gallons of fuel saved and over $500,000 in savings per year.
Learn more about Samsara here.
uShip —
The biggest thing we’ve done is go 100% remote for those that want to, and we are currently downsizing our office space. Prior to going remote, we issued monthly green credits to those that used public transportation or biked/walked to work. When we had chefs, they used local farms and purveyors. We were also the first commercial customer of Lettuce Grow and had several hydroponic towers on site from we which we harvested our greens for lunch. Participation in community service and clean ups of our local water ways is also an important part of our charity work.
Learn more about uShip here.
Relativity —
“Our sustainability approach at Relativity is to provide our employees with the tools, resources and working groups they need to be more sustainable in both their work and personal lives. We focus on growing responsibly as a company in regards to sustainability metrics, our carbon footprint, and so on – but we also focus on educating and empowering our employees to make thoughtful decisions in their work and home life and become stewards of a sustainable future. We strongly believe that the impact of our sustainability program should be far reaching beyond our offices.”
— Amanda Fennell, Chief Security Officer and Chief Information Officer
Learn more about Relativity here.
SumOfUs —
SumOfUs is 20,425,844 people stopping big corporations from behaving badly.
On environmental justice & sustainability — we believe in safeguarding our communities and the planet from the impacts of climate change. We advocate for Indigenous land rights, the safety and wellbeing of climate refugees, reducing plastic waste and water pollution, and preventing habitat destruction
HERE are some of our current campaigns we’re very proud to share with you.
Learn more about SumOfUs here.
ServiceNow —
As a purpose-driven company committed to long-term value creation, ServiceNow has made Environmental, Social, Governance (ESG) a strategic imperative across our organization. With digital experiences that make work flow across the complex ESG landscape, ServiceNow is making progress and driving sustained impact for the planet. We’ve achieved 100% renewable electricity and carbon neutrality in business operations, travel and work from home. Additionally, we’re engaging in responsible procurement—33% of our suppliers by spend have set or committed to science-based targets.
Join a sustainability-focused company that makes the world work better. Explore ServiceNow careers and learn about our ESG strategy here.
Learn more about ServiceNow here.
Collective Insights — Community Connection at Collective Insights
At Collective Insights, our community is more than just something we are part of. You'll find us lending a hand or sharing a donation, but more than that, we're invested in making an impact! From the beginning, giving back to our city has been an integral part of Collective Insights' mission.
Chattahoochee River Keepers (CRK), one of our main community partners, has a mission of ensuring there is enough clean water in the Chattahoochee River now and for future generations. Collective Insights partners with CRK annually to serve alongside hundreds of volunteers to keep our community clean.
Watch to learn more about how we support our Atlanta community through short-term initiatives and long-term sustainable efforts.
Learn more about Collective Insights here.
Pax8 —
Pax8 provides positive environmental impact by recycling, utilizing power management in all of our suites, auto shutdown of lighting and appliances. We use environmentally friendly kitchen utensils and supplies. Our environmental group organizes e-waste events for all of our hardware that has reached end of life, as well as several other events to help clean up the environment.
Learn more about Pax8 here.
Workiva —
As a leader in Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) reporting, sustainability is part of who we are at Workiva. To reduce our environmental impact and provide a way for our employees to safely dispose of electronics, we’re hosting a company-wide E-Waste drive in August. We’re also piloting a new initiative to power down our offices on select Fridays to measure the potential impact we can have in reducing our carbon footprint. By eliminating single-use plastics in all our offices, along with recycling in many of them, we’re doing our part to take care of the planet.
Learn more about Workiva here.
Light & Wonder — Every day is Earth Day at Light & Wonder!
As part of Light & Wonders commitment to invest in our planet and serve as environmental stewards, hundreds of employees come together annually to support a local community cleanup as a partner in The Great Global Cleanup. Employees globally participate in the flagship volunteer program and worldwide campaign to remove millions of pieces of trash from neighborhoods, beaches, rivers, lakes, trails, and parks — reducing waste and plastic pollution, improving habitats, and preventing harm to wildlife and humans. Light & Wonder employees take action on Earth Day each year to participate and mobilize with millions of volunteers to keep our communities and clean and healthy.
Light & Wonder also supports The Canopy Project, funding reforestation efforts worldwide that plant trees across vast ecosystems, with many species completely reliant on them for their survival. Reforestation is an effective method to fight against climate change while also maintaining the many benefits forests provide. Light & Wonder donated more 7,500 trees in the last year alone and remains committed to support reforestation projects is an effective method to fight against climate change.
#LNWCSR
Learn more about Light & Wonder here.
Back Market —
We're rebels with a cause.
Spurred into action by the megatons of e-waste (electronic waste) we produce each year thanks to our collective obsession with new tech, Back Market is challenging people to rethink their tech consumption.
Since 2014, through the sale of refurbished smartphones, Back Market has prevented:
- The emission of 580,144,582.08 kg of CO2
- The use of 1,878,480,190 kg of raw materials
- The consumption of 498,015,680,400 L of water
- The production of 1,274,162.93 kg of electronic waste
Learn more about Back Market here.
McMaster-Carr —
At McMaster-Carr, an e-commerce company with five US facilities, we are increasingly aware of the limits of natural resources. Although our operations are not particularly burdensome on the environment, we do our part to create a sustainable economy by focusing on reducing energy and emissions, leveraging recyclable materials, reducing waste and water use and offering our customers products that support sustainability. Specifically, at McMaster-Carr we have achieved reducing energy consumption and emissions by 15% and 25% respectively over a five-year period and continues to divert more than 90% of waste from landfills.
Learn more about McMaster-Carr here.
Northrop Grumman —
Northrop Grumman incorporates environmental sustainability into our business process and operations and prioritizes strong environmental management.
- We are committed to achieving net zero greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in our operations by 2035. To do this, we will continue to emphasize efficiency, invest in low and zero carbon energy solutions and incentivize operations-related emissions reductions through the company’s non-financial metrics.
- Our company completed installation of our newest solar power-generating system at our Rolling Meadows, Illinois, site in 2021.
- Also in 2021, we adopted additional processes to help our employees remain safe amidst the pandemic, while continuing efforts to reduce our environmental footprint, and using our past performance to help shape future goals with sustainability at the forefront.
- Learn more about our commitment to environmental sustainability.
Learn more about Northrop Grumman here.
Chainalysis’s Ashley Vaughan on Why She Finds Cybersecurity So Meaningful, and How More Women Can Find Their Niche in the Industry
How much money do criminals control today, and where is it?
These are some of the many questions that Ashley Vaughan, Senior Solutions Architect at blockchain data platform Chainalysis, spends her days working to answer.
“You learn more about a situation or problem by following the money than from any other resource or piece of information,” she explains. “Money doesn't lie. People can lie in text messages or other means, but the path of the money leads you to what you're trying to accomplish.”
Though Ashley always knew she wanted to work with computers, she found her way into roles in cybersecurity, and then specifically blockchain security, through networking and exposure — not by setting out to do so.
We sat down to talk about her career journey, as well as what advice she has for other women looking to make their mark in these burgeoning fields.
Resilience and Curiosity
Ashley doesn’t often give up, and credits some of that attitude to an obsession with soccer as a kid.
“Playing sports makes you a more resilient person, I think. You learn failure and risk, which are very applicable to my job and my career path,” she says.
That resiliency was a good thing, notes Ashley, because as a young girl, she wasn’t always encouraged to pursue what she was most interested in: math and science. A teacher early on had told her that she wasn’t good at math, and Ashley believed that narrative until high school.
“We really shouldn’t put those ideas in children’s minds, because it affects them for much longer than you might think,” she says of the experience. “But I’m the kind of person that when someone tells me I can’t do something, it makes me want to do it even more, and do it better.”
Finding out in advanced high school math classes that she actually was good at math turned into choosing a computer engineering major when she got to college.
Graduating during a recession in 2010 meant Ashley didn’t have the job market of her dreams, but after working in IT, she networked her way into a role in the cybersecurity department of a prominent DC law firm.
“They were getting hit left and right from social engineering and phishing attempts,” says Ashley. “Due to the sensitive nature of the work they dealt with, I was exposed to the darker realities of the digital era, and I began to see a new side to the world—one of real significance to national security.”
Specializing in Cybersecurity — and Finding a Home in the Private Sector
Inspired by what she was working on at the law firm, Ashley pursued a master’s in cybersecurity with a focus on counterterrorism.
“I wanted to help protect our country,” she explains. “I have a lot of family members who are former military, so that was a natural step for me.”
That led to her taking a contract role specializing in offensive security at a government agency that frequently worked with Chainalysis. After working with Chainalysis folks onsite, she was sold and started pursuing a position with the company.
“I wanted to help make sense of blockchain data for a bigger purpose, like assisting in the continued threat of ransomware activity against American interests,” she explains.
Although she credits her public sector work with providing a solid foundation in blockchain security, the private sector turned out to be a better fit for her.
“What I love about Chainalysis is that my colleagues are really happy people, and I’ve always felt welcome and not scared to ask questions,” says Ashley. “In past jobs, where I was one of five women in a group of 150, I felt a lot of pressure. I didn’t ever want to make a mistake. I felt as if I had to be a chameleon to match the social environment of my male counterparts.”
Blockchains are all about democratizing data, and Ashley likes working with a team of people of all backgrounds to help support that mission. At Chainalysis, Ashley works with internal product and engineering to show customers how Chainalysis data can help them use complex blockchain solutions to solve data problems — and catch bad guys.
“Sometimes we’re following a bad actor who’s tied to child sex trafficking. Being part of a coordinated operation to put a stop to things like that is really fulfilling,” she says.
3 Tips for Women Who Want to Find Their Place in Cybersecurity
For a long time, reflects Ashley, she just wanted to come into work, do her job, and feel supported, without feeling like she didn’t fit in or was representing her entire gender. Fortunately, she found what she wanted — and she hopes other women will find that, too. They can start their search by:
- Knowing they’re not alone in having tough experiences. “Everyone has different definitions for how you’re supposed to act or supposed to handle your emotions as a woman at work, and it’s exhausting. It’s like, ‘This is just me.’ I can’t repeat enough how tiring that is,” she says.
- Prioritizing self-directed learning. Although Ashley completed a master’s in cybersecurity, she emphasizes that there are many other routes into the industry, including self-study. Whether you get involved in programs like Girls Who Code or do self-paced learning through platforms like Udemy or Coursera, the important thing is that you pursue independent learning about topics that interest you, she says.
- Creating and maintaining relationships. “Really talking to people is almost a lost art,” says Ashley. “Getting together with someone who has the same sort of mindset and leveraging their knowledge, and making sure you keep in touch with people who help further your career, is a good move. Most of the places I got to professionally were based on my human connections.”
Nowadays at Chainalysis, Ashley is no longer one of five women in the office, and is excited to start paying it forward so that more people with backgrounds like hers can pursue their own professional success.
“We tend to feel more comfortable talking to people who might have our same gender or educational background, and being open and vulnerable with them,” she says. “Being a visible role model is really important to me.”
Check out Chainalysis’ open roles here!