Like much of the rest of the world, we’ve been working from home an awful lot since March. Under normal circumstances we love getting face-to-face time with our coworkers and clients, but as these are far from normal circumstances, we’re doing our part to stop the spread of the virus by staying home.

To help employees create the work environment that’s most comfortable and productive for them, Avatria has always had a flexible work-from-home policy. Thanks to this, the transition to a fully remote work life has been relatively smooth (all things considered), and hasn’t impacted our ability to build world-class software for our clients and customers. Additionally, we’ve decided to offer all employees a home office stipend, which allows our staff to outfit their workspaces with the monitors, chairs, and other equipment they need to work efficiently and effectively.

With so many stuck at home right now, we thought it would be fun to give a peek behind the curtains, and show how a few Avatria employees are managing in the midst of a global pandemic.

Brian Ballard

“We moved our office into our bedroom about a month into the pandemic so we could have a door that closes and locks. Sometimes you just need some peace and quiet away from the kiddos to focus. I got the ball after experiencing back issues from an old desk chair. Pain went away in a week and posture has improved dramatically. Wonderful $50 buy. Dual-monitor setup is absolutely critical for productivity and my JBL Boombox keeps the earbuds out of my ears most of the day since it doubles as a high quality speaker phone. The cats sleep most of the day but they’re great for a stress-relieving break. Finally my kids have done a great job of decorating the area with pictures and paintings to personalize the space.”

Frank Fineis

“I can’t work productively unless I’m under the view of my Barack-with-football picture. With 3 screens I can keep as many Chrome tabs open as I need on one screen, my IDEs in the middle, and communique on the right. 6 months into the pandemic and everything has developed its little place on my desk – gum, stapler, coffee, and the stack of papers I may/may not get to.”

Connie Kim

“Before I moved a month ago, my office window looked right into the neighbor’s wall. It felt very confining. I’d say I’ve definitely upgraded and it’s made working from home really great. In the mornings when I first start, prior to any meetings, I’ll sit outside on the balcony for a few hours with my cup of coffee and just get ready to start the day. When the meetings start, I can head back inside but still get a really cool view. I rarely have to turn on the lights since there’s so much sunlight coming through which really keeps me in a good spirits throughout the day!”

Nate Macaso

“I think a few things make my work-from-home setup unique. I have a couple of items to help keep me comfortable: a purple seat cushion to relieve pressure and provide support and a pair of blue lens glasses to help prevent eye strain. For entertainment, I have an amplified speaker that I can use to stream music or take a quick guitar noodling break.”

John McDonough

“When working from home, it’s nice to have a little bit of variety to the day. I’ll typically spend most of the day at my desk, which has an office chair for comfort, extra monitor for productivity, and a number of knick-knacks I’ve acquired over the years for that homey feeling. But when the weather is nice I like to move outside to my backyard for an hour or two at a time. The chair could be better, but getting some fresh air is amazing, and I can tell that my personal assistant (pictured) appreciates the change of scenery.”

Anando Naqui

“I’ve never been a big fan of working from home before the pandemic because there were too many distractions, so the first thing I did was clean up my desk so it was more of a workspace and less of a storage area. I really like being next to the window, which lets in a ton of natural light and a breeze on nice days. My wife and I share a long desk, so we can bounce ideas off each other. The podcast microphone has really upped my conference call game, and is indispensable for recording SKU-ed, Avatria's podcast. And yes, that’s the Lego Saturn V rocket on my desk because space is cool (and it’s one of few places in the house where it’ll fit).”

Stephen Osentoski

“Very versatile desk. The key to it all is my 4-to-2 HDMI switcher, which allows me to very easily switch my monitor display from the laptop to my desktop at the click of the button. Having the dual-monitor arms makes it nice to have my monitors at eye-level and easy to work comfortably all day. The boom mic is surprisingly nice for meetings, and a must for podcasts.”