How DigitalOcean supports employees as they balance work and life

As organizations like DigitalOcean have transitioned to remote-first working environments over the past two years, the notion of having a healthy work-life balance has become increasingly important. While remote work can be beneficial to maintaining a balance with activities outside of work by eliminating commute times and giving employees flexibility throughout their day, it can also lead to working longer hours and create increasingly blurred lines between work and home life. This is often especially the case at high-growth technology companies like DigitalOcean. 

I recently joined DigitalOcean as a Senior Technical Recruiter, and although I had an excellent experience interviewing with several members of the team, I wasn’t sure if the reality would meet my expectations. I have been at DigitalOcean for five months now, and I can say that work-life balance and the prioritization of well-being and family is truly a priority at DigitalOcean, which is beneficial for all of our employees. 

Having a busy six-year-old with an active school and social life, finding the right balance between work and life outside of work is extremely important to me. At DigitalOcean, I have been able to find career satisfaction without having to compromise my role as a mother and a wife. There is autonomy in the way that everyone approaches their day and their work that allows for me to truly own my schedule from a day-to-day perspective. In addition, working with a distributed, global team culture is truly a value add.

Here are some ways I’ve found DigitalOcean encourages employees to balance work and life: 

Flexible work options

DigitalOcean is a remote-first organization, meaning we allow all employees to work from home permanently. We provide every employee with benefits to make their home working environment comfortable, including laptops and monitors, contributions towards home office setups, and $200/month towards wifi and other ongoing expenses. In addition, we send employees monthly coffee subscriptions and snack boxes as an extra treat. 

For those who prefer working in an office, we recently implemented a global WeWork subscription which enables employees to access any WeWork around the globe. Working at home every day isn’t for everyone, and this option means that those who want an office environment can use desks and book offices for meetings in any of WeWork’s 800+ locations.  

Regular employee sentiment surveys 

Since I joined, I’ve had multiple chances to give feedback to DigitalOcean on the onboarding process and my working preferences through regular surveys sent by our people team. Our annual Tide survey identifies areas of improvement when it comes to work environments, managers, and work-life balance, and leaders create action items based on the results from their departments. Through these surveys, the voice of our employees from all backgrounds are truly heard.

In addition to our business metrics, we also measure our progress when it comes to our people as a key yearly metric. This ensures we never lose sight of employee satisfaction, which is critical to our overall success. 

Wellness support

Mental and physical wellbeing is critical, and DigitalOcean has created several programs around these areas. They include a wellness stipend and subscriptions to mental wellness applications including Calm and Ginger. We also provide employees with regular Sammy Recharge Days for everyone to take off and recharge and have recently implemented certain no-meeting days. Additionally, our Open PTO policy encourages everyone to take the time they need throughout the year. These flexible policies mean I can take time to care for myself and my family while also accomplishing my goals at work. 

A global culture of love

Perhaps the most important element of creating a healthy work-life balance is ensuring employees feel they can be open and be themselves at work. At DigitalOcean, ‘love it as our core’ is one of our values, and since joining I have experienced this to be true. My colleagues welcome and support me, and I feel my work is valued. Employee Resource Groups such as the Women of DO, Rainbow DOlphins LGBTQIA+ group, Shark Tank veterans group, and Emerging Sharks group for those early in their career enable employees to connect with and be supported by others with shared experiences.

In my experience at DigitalOcean, I feel we have captured a special space that many companies strive for by creating a culture that values wellbeing, diversity and inclusion, and a good work-life balance. Interested in learning more about our teams or becoming part of DigitalOcean yourself? Check out our careers page for current job openings.