Does Working from Home Work for Your Home Life? | Our Discover You Events for September 2021

The Global View

• This month, we became a Great Place to Work certified workplace, on our first attempt. As most of our opportunities are for work-from-home jobs in Cebu, this was a great encouragement.
• Our CEO Awardee for September 2021 is Sheila, who works as a Finance Admin Virtual Assistant in Cebu for a full-service franchise marketing agency in Australia. Before the COVID-19 pandemic had started, her client planned for Sheila to visit the business in Australia. “One day in the future, it will happen,” she wrote.
• While the competition for available work in Cebu is intense, if you’re job-hunting, it’s always a good idea to find out what you can about the workplace culture before you apply to a company. An employer who provides family-friendly benefits and helps you create a richer family life (in addition to a more remarkable career) is a wise choice.

About 19 months after most of us began working from home, what changes have we seen in our home lives?
Or do you sometimes feel sad that even if you’re at home most of the time, you’re not fully present—and not always able to join family rituals like enjoying dinner together or spending more time talking to one another?

One interesting study about the work-from-home phenomenon asked participants these questions:

• “How often did your job keep you from concentrating on important things in your family or personal life?”
• “How often did you not have enough time or energy for the important people in your life because of your job?”
• “How often did your work keep you from doing as good a job at home as you could?”

This study, which was presented as “Work-Life Conflict During the Covid-19 Pandemic”, involved about 2,500 Canadian workers who were surveyed from 19 to 24 September 2019, then again from 17 to 23 April 2020, and finally from 17 to 23 June 2020. Scott Schieman, Philip Badawy, Melissa Milkie, and Alex Bierman of the University of Toronto conducted it.

These were their findings:

• For employees who worked from home and had no children, their levels of work-life conflict dropped during the pandemic.
• Those who worked from home and have children younger than 13 years old reported that their work-life conflict did not decrease as much, “considering the unique demands related to younger children’s education, supervision, and daily care.”
• For those whose children were teenagers, their average levels of work-life conflict were almost the same as those who had no children.

While working from home does have its many upsides, it also created some challenges, particularly for working parents with young children.

This was not a situation any caring employer could afford to ignore.

Discover You: Creating an Enriched Family Life

The Remarkable Life framework that GoTeam Founder Matt Kesby designed for the tribe mentions three elements.

A remarkable life consists of the whole person’s growth, gaining access to some “ungettable gets”, and an enriched family life. Feeling connected to one’s family contributes to the sense that one is safe and secure, as well as heard and useful.

So, in one of the Exceed Institute sessions, Matt invited the tribe to go through a Family Vision Word Cloud exercise.

Participants received a list of 10 groups of words (either nouns or verb phrases), each of them representing different needs such as connection, meaning, love and attention, physical well-being, and harmony. The task here was for each family member to choose up to three words from each group.

Participants also received a separate list of 10 groups of words, this time adjectives. The task here was for the family to choose up to three words from each group, identifying how they wanted to feel within the family.

The more certain words were repeated, the larger these appeared in the family word cloud that participants eventually created. Among the words that emerged in our team members’ family word clouds were peaceful, grateful, optimistic, love, hope, safe, adventure, open, laughter, and (no surprise here) food.

Here are some of the family word clouds our team members made:

We also listed down the traditions we want to add to our families, as part of an enriched and more connected family life that we will continue to create.

In the Afterword to The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, Stephen R. Covey was asked how he would teach these habits to very young children.

He answered: “I would say, first, example; second, build a caring and affirming relationship; and third, teach some of the simple ideas underlying the habits in the language of children—help them gain a basic understanding and vocabulary of the 7 Habits and show them how to process their own experiences through the principles.”

One of the ways we help working parents in the GoTeam tribe is by providing online teaching support through Project Next Generation.

When daycare centers and schools closed, working parents scrambled to provide a conducive environment at home where their children could attend online classes.

They juggled the daily challenges of work and home life and took on additional duties. They learned to serve as their grade-school children’s IT support, camera operator (for a variety of class projects), canteen supervisor, study group buddy, and classroom monitor.

Through Project Next Generation, we give working parents some moments of peace and teach our future leaders some lessons that aren’t always taught in regular schools. The lessons address each child’s growth as a whole person—body, mind, heart, and spirit—and are anchored on our core values in the GoTeam tribe.

If you’re a working parent who would love a work culture with family-friendly benefits, we invite you to find your next, more remarkable career here: GoTeam Careers

Our September Values Awardees

As part of efforts to include families in more celebrations, CEO Fiona Kesby reminded all team members to invite their loved ones and friends to the gratitude celebration being prepared for October 2021.

This will be a talk by Coach Adrian Ding, Founder and CEO of Maximum Impact Philippines, on “How to Build a Professional Personal Brand.” Adrian’s session with the tribe in February 2021 about applying the five love languages at work generated some of the most enthusiastic responses during our virtual events.
Another highlight that our CEO shared in September was the fact that 1,162 individuals enjoyed private medical insurance this month—of whom 489 were team members.
There were also 77 career opportunities available. Unlike most companies, we encourage team members to refer family members and relatives for our open job roles.

CARE AWARD: Jessah Mae Dacillo works as a Metadata Librarian for a global media company based in Australia that is also behind a leading large-print and audiobooks brand.

Jessah won this award in the same month that she celebrated her first GoTeam work anniversary.

“Jessah, you are dependable and can adapt easily to new tasks,” her client Milena wrote in her nomination.

“You have shown intelligence, initiative, and care for your work, and you are an asset. It has been a genuine pleasure working with you over the past year, Jessah.”

What this award honors: We care deeply about the success of our clients, knowing that their success is our long-term success. We care about our workmates and treat everyone as we would wish to be treated.

DRIVE: Barbette Lominoque works as an Executive Assistant for a property investment and ancillary financial services business in the U.K.

Barbette won the Drive Award in just her fifth month with the tribe.

Her client Catherine described that Barbette’s progress in her first few weeks had “come on leaps and bounds.”

“We don’t know how we survived without her,” Catherine wrote. “We have tried other outsourcing firms before. Barbette has given us the confidence that it can work. We will now be expanding our admin team with GoTeam.”

And that’s part of the beautiful rewards of being driven to do exceptional work: the fact that we can create more opportunities for others to find their next, more remarkable career with us.

What this award honors: We possess an internal drive to succeed and help our clients exceed their goals.

DISCOVERY: Frankie Miranda, works as a Command Specialist for one of the world’s largest real estate franchise and tech companies.

Frankie, who joined the tribe in December 2020, won the Discovery Value Award in his ninth month.

Within their first six months, new team members receive a copy of Robin Sharma’s Little Black Book for Stunning Success and a copy of Stephen R. Covey’s classic The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People.

During one virtual catch-up, Frankie “shared his favorite quote from Robin Sharma’s ‘Little Black Book of Success’,” observed our CEO Fiona Kesby and Chief Happiness Officer Michelle Signe.

Here’s the quote he chose: “The actions you take each day create the results of your life. And since every action you take has been preceded by a thought, what you focus on really does drive your reality.”

“We appreciate how Frankie used this and applied it to his work and everyday life.”

What this award honors: We possess a thirst for discovering new skills and commit ourselves to extended learning.

FIND A WAY: Nonavel Francisco works as a Bookkeeper for an Australian business that provides business owners with bookkeeping support.

Nonavel will celebrate her third GoTeam work anniversary in January 2022.

Her client Nick wrote that he “appreciate(d) Nonavel’s proactiveness and willingness to help with any task.”

In the same month, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that technological changes like cloud computing would increasingly free bookkeepers of routine tasks and that the challenge for them was to “take on a more analytical and advisory role” from 2020 to 2030.

It also projected an average of 170,200 job openings each year in the U.S. alone for bookkeepers, accounting clerks, and accountants, just to replace those who switch careers or retire.

What this award honors: We take responsibility, accountability, and ownership of our actions. We embrace challenges and commit to finding resolutions to any obstacle.

EXECUTE: Mary Day Dapiton works as a Project Manager for an IT services organization based in Toronto that has created, among others, a media streaming and campaigning platform.

Day will celebrate her first year with the tribe in November 2021.

For this award, Results Coach Monico Lim praised Day’s commitment to getting things done and helping the team.

“Not only does Day deliver requested items far sooner than expected, she is also instrumental in ensuring the whole team stays on track,” he wrote.
We are grateful to see more opportunities emerging for Project Managers like Day, as more business owners realize the range of skills they can add to their teams through GoTeam’s enhanced operations model.

What this award honors: We focus and execute to get the job done. We believe in measurements and creating winnable games across all the work we do.

HUMILITY: Kimberly Vargas works as a Digital Marketing Assistant for a professional training and coaching business based in South Carolina.

Kimberly celebrated her second GoTeam anniversary in July 2021.

“Kim is very flexible when it comes to her tasks,” her client Robert wrote.

“She has been working with my different projects and companies with a positive attitude. She is reliable and an outstanding team member. I am extremely grateful that she is part of the team and helps me tremendously with my success.”

As the pandemic compelled companies to implement their digital transformations fast, the demand for marketing practitioners who can also adapt fast keeps rising.

Humility, which sets the foundation for embracing new ideas and gaining new skills, will continue to reap rewards for Kimberly and practitioners like her.

What this award honors: We are open to listening to others. We seek the third alternative. It may not be my way or your way; together, we commit to finding the best way.

GRATITUDE: Divina Bartolata works as a Recruitment Admin for a U.S. business that is the leading resource for consulting and talent acquisition in the packaging and paper industries.

Divina will celebrate her third year with the tribe in January 2022.

When she celebrated her second GoTeam anniversary this year, Divina thanked her clients for always teaching her to grow more confident, speak up about her ideas, and “not be afraid to share whatever can help the company grow.”

Her client’s feedback, which led to this award, points to how powerful gratitude is, in response to new challenges.

“She has gotten involved in our training, our marketing efforts, and additional projects to further her knowledge with her career. Any task or project that she is given, she always accepts with gratitude and never turns away, while keeping up with her research requests,” her client Jennifer wrote.

“We consider her a permanent member of the business and she deserves much more than this small bit of credit that we have asked for. Congratulations, Divina! You are on your way to so much more!”

What this award honors: We show gratitude for everything our clients, team members, and mentors help us with to exceed in our work. We do not take anything for granted.

CEO AWARD: Sheila Elijorde works as a Finance Admin Virtual Assistant with a full-service franchise marketing agency in Australia.

This is not the first award for Sheila, who celebrated her third GoTeam work anniversary in April this year.

She also won the Care Value Award in February 2020.

And in August 2020, she was one of the GoTeam Heroes of the Day, when her client praised her for helping a teammate and “ensuring he understands how we work and feels there is someone he can turn to for help.”

“Sheila always tries to showcase our company values,” her client Kelli wrote.

“I appreciate her commitment to the business, even though she is so far away (It is easy to add value if you actually care). She is always willing to help when anyone asks (We have each others’ backs), and she always tries her best (Good enough is not good enough). She is always happy and has the BEST gif game of anyone on the team!! (We love what we do.)”

“Sheila is such an important part of our team. We wish that COVID-19 didn’t stop the planned visit to Australia, but one day in the future it will happen. As the business continues to grow, we rely on Sheila more and more, and we look forward to her doing more to move from the finance side to the marketing side!”

What this award honors: We care. We have drive. We act with humility. We pursue discovery. We actively show gratitude. We love to execute. We always find a way.

Congratulations to all of our September 2021 Values Awardees—and to the loving and supportive families who take care of them and contribute to their ability to exceed expectations.

GoTeam is an enhanced operations business in Cebu that connects virtual assistants and other highly skilled team members with growing businesses in the United States, Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and the United Kingdom, among others. Most of our current openings are for work from home jobs. Our kind and caring work culture provides the support that team members need for more remarkable careers. Come join our tribe!

About GoTeam

GoTeam is a outsourcing company based in Cebu City in the Philippines. Our virtual assistants support growth-stage businesses in Australia, the United States, the United Kingdom, Singapore, and Canada, among others. We are driven to help businesses scale and be a catalyst for people to exceed.

Contact Information:
AU (+61) 2 7227 8809
US (+1) 302 207 2767
PH (+63) 032 238 7448
9th Floor, i1 Building, Jose Maria del Mar Street, IT Park
Cebu City, Philippines 6000
Website: https://www.go.team
Careers: https://go.team/ph