lifelab on focus: New Work on Working Hours, Location, and Digitalization

This is the second out of a four-part series on how we employ the concept of New Work here at lifelab. For an introduction to New Work, we encourage you to read this: Doing Work That You Love .

We believe that New Work is about collaboration, with a focus on the people in each business; this encompasses a variety of values and a particular mindset. Openness, respect, personal responsibility, attention, and courage are all held in the utmost importance. However, our main anchor is the value of appreciation, which is all too often lost in everyday life and with what we have been conditioned by prior decades' work cultures. We find it essential to embed this profoundly in our structures and procedures, and to remind each other of it regularly. Genuine appreciation and fair treatment in the workplace means that New Work must be meaningful and purposeful for both the business and the individual. Work that isn't meaningful simply does not work for us. While we are already pursuing New Work at different working levels, we are still in the process of learning and improving as a young, global, startup company. In this four-part series, we aim to talk about the different levels on how New Work is implemented at lifelab.

We asked two of our team members to help us break down how working hours, location, and digitalization are valuable in New Work. Nora is our social media maven: she produces and manages the content on our Instagram account, and also prepares and co-hosts other events in the space. On the other hand, Mimi works her magic on website maintenance and content design.

Working hours and location 

This is generally implemented in a self-organized and self-reliant manner. As a framework, we have a 6-hour day that can be implemented in trust work - no matter where we are. We also have two employees in the Philippines who do completely remote work.

Nora: "I do have a very flexible schedule regarding my social media tasks. I use a little bit of time each day in addition to having Thursday planned as an office day to get bigger plans done. This works wonders for me. When I do not find the time on one day I can add the lost time slot to the next and avoid having to start a task at zero by planning ahead on Thursdays. This keeps me from procrastinating (hence the schedule) while at the same time being flexible around my life/college schedule."

Mimi: "Six hours a day works for me, as I am able to do conscious and intentional work within this period of time. But sometimes, I lose track of time when I am in my creative zone. I also love that I can work in various locations, as my environment also influences my work."

Unlimited vacation times 

This has been our standard since 2019. There are also breaks for mental health and shorter working hours as required.

Nora: "Unlimited vacation is kind of important; but not even the unlimitedness of it, but the full pay behind it. In Germany, it is quite normal to have sick days and have vacation days even as a Minijob employee, but never unlimited. Well, unless you are at lifelab (totally not promoting right now :) ). This allows me to not stress over having enough money at the end of the month and ensures me not overworking myself by not being able to take a week off when I am actually overwhelmed with life - work or personal." 

Mimi: "In the past, I barely got to use my vacation days because of office bureaucracy. Now, I can do so easily. After how many years, I still have to pinch and remind myself that asking for vacation doesn't have to be a nerve-wracking exercise.”

Completely Digital

Everything from bookkeeping to our cooperation tools is now completely digital. This means that all team members can work remotely if necessary & our team can work globally with two employees in the Philippines.

Nora: "I totally think the ability to work from any given place in the world will come in handy at the latest on my summer vacation. Whilst thinking about planning a trip with my college friends, I never have to worry about taking vacation rather than just having an internet connection which nowadays is pretty standard"

Mimi: "We are doing everything digital --- as we are a global team, it helps that we can do work anywhere, anytime. Everything we need for work can be accessed right away. Also, it helps us to be environmentally responsible with lesser use of paper."

We believe that New Work is not just a future-oriented work concept; it is here and now, and it is here to stay. The New Work concept is deeply embedded in the lifelab lifestyle, and it is employed in a wide range of fields. It highlights individuality, appreciation, and the importance of the work. We think that it has great potential, and we hope that we inspire other organizations to fully realize it.

Watch out for our next article, as we talk to our co-founders Hannes and Lisa about how though models play a big impact on how we do New Work.