Work From Home

Pants Optional – Episode Three: Policy Updates

March 28, 2025
By Stuart Platt

Pants Optional is a series focused on advice to company Owners, Managers and Employees on how to be successful in a Work-From-Home business model.

…Clients complained they could hear children in the background of a call. After 2020, that complaint no longer exists.

Some Outhouse, LLC employees have been working from home since 2018, long before a global pandemic made ‘WFH’ a common and recognized acronym. Since then, can you pick which of these Work From Home policies have been updated, made obsolete, or remained the same?

Childcare must be provided in the same manner you would if you worked in the office.
Present yourself in a well-framed, well-lit, organized, professional work environment for video calls.
Dress as you would if you were coming to the office.

When a business model changes, so must policy. The bigger the change, the bigger the adjustments, and no doubt moving to a WFH business model is one of the biggest changes a business can make. If you are an in-office company and you have an employee handbook, read through it and you will quickly identify policies that will need to be added, updated, or eliminated. If you have already moved to a WFH model, you are likely finding the updates you made in the beginning are again requiring updates. Below are only a few of what I have discovered.

1. Childcare Policy

During the summer of 2019 I received a call from a client complaining they could hear children screaming and fighting in the background during a call with one of our managers. The client knew this manager worked from home and was fine with that but “…hearing children in the background was very unprofessional”. I have received similar complaints about dogs barking or cats randomly walking across someone’s desk. I wholeheartedly agreed with the complaints and I promptly called the manager and reminded them of policy #1 and was assured, by the employee, it would not happen again.

Then, well… 2020 right? Schools and daycares were shut down and the entire world changed. You know the story.

Since 2020, you may or may not be amazed how people’s attitudes have changed and relaxed around what would be considered unprofessional disruptions. The complaints I heard in 2019 have all seemed to fall away completely. “Walk a mile in another person’s shoes” as they say. What was once an irritation during a call or virtual meeting has become fodder for empathetic banter, often helping build a stronger rapport between the company and client. In a large Zoom meeting, what might once have caused embarrassment and apologies when a dog comes in and persistently nudges someone’s elbow for attention now elicits an explosion of laughter from the entire audience. Why? Because nearly everybody in that meeting is at home with a dog, cat, child, or adult that did something equally or more embarrassing to them last week.

For our company, the day schools and daycares shut down, the childcare policy temporarily became obsolete. Today, it is mid-2021 so the policy is still unenforced but will one day likely be back when it’s reasonable to do so.

2. Video Calls Policy

Let’s be real. When you are on a video call, we all can’t help but check out what is in the other person’s room or on their walls and JUDGE them for it; and believe me they are doing the same to you! When I am on a video call with anybody; employee, client, vendor or even watching a webinar, I would cringe when I see something that that doesn’t meet the standards I set for myself in a video call. It is different for everybody, but a small list of cringeworthy examples I have personally seen are:

Meetings in someone’s bedroom.
People are a dark silhouette because of a bright window behind them.
Their head is in the lower half of the frame making it look like they are sitting at the kiddie table.
Empty Amazon boxes piled behind them.
TV’s on in the background.
A kegerator! Yes, I’ve seen it and to be honest, I did not cringe; I was impressed!

For many companies, gone are the days of impressing clients or customers with a fancy, professional office. Even if you have an office, today’s technology makes it easy to simply stay at home or anywhere when it comes to meeting nearly anybody. Therefore, what a person sees behind you becomes representative of not only your company, but also you personally.

I was very strict regarding what was seen in the frame of video calls. I was hyper-aware of what was behind myself as well. That has all changed now. Since the addition of virtual backgrounds in the two platforms my company uses, Zoom and MS Teams, it no longer matters what room you are in or what is behind you. Our policy has been adjusted that if you do not have a professional physical background, that you use an appropriate virtual background. It is also important that you are still well lit and properly framed; but having a cat using the litterbox behind you is no longer against policy when using a virtual background.

We also have more leniency with virtual backgrounds allowing employees to express more of their personality if it is tasteful. For meetings with clients, they can use a company branded background or the command deck of the Starship Enterprise if they choose. When it comes to internal meetings, we are even more lenient, bordering NSFW.

Here are my favorite backgrounds for INTERNAL meetings. Email me at stuartp@outhouse.net and I will be happy to share them with you.

3. Dress Code Policy

This is the policy that has not changed. Granted, we never really know what people are wearing below the waist, but up top needs to be presentable. At Outhouse, our dress code is already business-casual, leaning more to the ‘casual’, but at home people can take that to a whole new level. Regardless, every employee is a representative of the company so what they wear matters, and the leadership needs to communicate that.

More importantly, the positive impact of dressing appropriately is becoming more and more apparent. Maintaining the same routine at home that you had going to the office gives you a sense of normalcy, helps keep you focused and productive, improves your self-image, and even helps separate work-life boundaries.

When you used to go to an office, if you showered every morning, continue doing so. If you changed your clothes after coming home from work, continue doing so. Maintaining separation from work and home, when they are one in the same, is critical… but that’s another blog.

The good news is most policies only require minimal updates moving to a WFH model. To add to that, there is an abundance of new online WFH resources that did not exist before 2020. Google search is your friend and many new professional services and apps have been developed specifically for WFH companies. This past year has seen an explosion of WFH advancements, and I predict it is not going to slow down any time soon.

About the Author: Stuart Platt, Managing Partner at Outhouse LLC restructured his 25+ year company to an Office Optional (OffOp) business model in 2018. Stuart’s version of the OffOp model enabled the company of nearly 40 employees to downsize its physical office from 14,000sf to 6,000sf. Based in Phoenix, local employees desiring to work in the office for a few days, weeks or months can reserve any open desk whenever they want. The remaining employees work from home, fulltime across 10 different states and counting.

Pants Optional – Episode Two: The Mindset Commute

March 28, 2025
By Stuart Platt

Pants Optional is a series focused on advice to company Owners, Managers, and Employees on how to be successful in a Work-From-Home business model.

Man with goggles sitting in front of computer taking a virtual commute to his home office

“…nobody complained about adding their commute time back in their lives, but after a while, many people discovered there was a downside.”

Before working from home my daily 16-mile commute in Phoenix, Arizona was 23-minutes each way. Half on the freeway and half on busy city streets during rush hour. I was fortunate to be driving a safe, comfortable, and reliable vehicle. I fell right in the average American commute time to and from work. Other employees ranged from a few minutes away to several driving over an hour each way. Regardless of the time, nobody complained about adding their commute time back in their lives, but after a while, many people discovered there was a downside. A potentially serious downside for some.

Even if they did not realize it at the time, their daily commute had become a critical step in transitioning from a homelife mindset to a work life mindset, and vice-versa. During their commute to work, they could think about and mentally prepare for their day. On their way home it might become a time of reflection, or a time to think about what is for dinner, or to simply zone out and crank the music.

People discovered the 5-second work from home commute was a shock to their system, suddenly jarring their mental states from home to work and back home again. At the end of the day, people found themselves irritated by their family, or roommates, or pets, because they did not feel like they had any downtime after work. And they didn’t! Their family was acting the same as when they walked in from the garage before. The only difference is that you never realized you used that 15, 30, 45-minutes of commuting to transition from your work life mindset back to homelife. It was completely unconscious.

Enter the Mindset Commute. If you had a 20-minute commute before, then try taking 20-minutes to do something that is going to give you the time and environment you need to get that transition back. Get out of the house and take a walk or go for a run. Step out on the patio and enjoy a beverage by yourself.

Whatever you decide, most importantly, make sure you have an agreement with whomever you live with (except the dog) that the 20-minutes after you walk out of your home office, those minutes are still yours and you are not to be disturbed unless something literally catches on fire. Explain to your roommates or family how you need this personal time to purge your mind from work. If they have noticed you have seemed irritable after work, they will understand the importance of giving you this.

Spend some time on a hobby or start a new one! Admit it; you have always wanted to try Bonsai.

And the word commute can really mean just about anything. By one definition, your mindset commute can mean literally getting into your car and driving around the neighborhood for 20-minutes, return home, walk in the door and announce “Honey, I’m home!” Or take the money you are saving on gas and eating out and buy a VR headset. Take a virtual drive anywhere in the world! Here are some great ideas:

Hobbies – Spend some time on a hobby or start a new one! Admit it; you have always wanted to try Bonsai.
Exercise – Obvious, but how many times have you made excuses of not having enough time to be active? Look up the 7-Minute Workout.
Gaming – Jump off the work computer and onto the gaming console. Because not everybody gets excited about pushups, crunches and burpees.
Meditate – There are hundreds of ways to meditate. Do a little research and try one out.

Personally, my morning commute was a ritual of creating the perfect cup of coffee. It seems like such a pretentious thing to me now, but I would take about 15-minutes to meticulously brew a carafe of coffee. Get this, I would hand-grind fresh, expensive, gourmet coffee beans in a manual ceramic burr coffee grinder, place the grinds into a double-walled, stainless steel French press (with mirror finish of course), while boiling water in my gooseneck kettle on the stovetop. After blooming the grinds for 30-seconds with a splash of hot water then pouring the rest in, I would wait 2-minutes before slowly plunging the press with only the weight of my hand. Part of me hates to admit how much I enjoyed that process, but let me tell you, after that I was mentally ready to walk into my home office and get to work.

Man making coffee in a stainless steel French press

My meticulous coffee commute lasted all of 2 months. Since then, just like tonight, I will think to myself, “Gah, I need to get the coffee ready.” and as if it were the last chore before going to bed, scoop the generic pre-ground coffee into the 10-cup electric coffee maker and hope I remember to hit the timer button so it’s ready in the morning. Honestly, after the first year I no longer need a morning commute. I’m mentally ready to jump right in the home office with my mediocre coffee and get to it. After work, most days now I no longer need a commute either, but when I do I usually like to sit out on my patio for 10-15 minutes, with the dogs, and enjoy an adult beverage while shamelessly scrolling through social media on my phone.

However the mindset commute looks to you, the common denominator is personal time—that magic amount of personal time allowing you to shift from one mindset to another. Your routine before work may be completely different and take only a fraction of the time you require after work. Some of you may not require a morning or evening commute at all. The type and time of commute you need today may not be the same next month or next year. Try alternating between different commutes based on your mood. Before working from home, you could drive different routes to disrupt the monotony. Why not do the same thing at home? Give yourself permission to change your commute and try new things.

Pants Optional – Episode One: Where Do I Start?

March 28, 2025
By Stuart Platt

Pants Optional is a series focused on advice to company Owners, Managers and Employees on how to be successful in a Work-From-Home business model.

Online work at home. A young man typing on a laptop sitting at a table at home.

Before 2020, deciding to become a Work From Home (WFH) company was exactly that; a decision. When the pandemic hit, many companies had this decision made for them – Become a WFH company or risk losing some staff or your company altogether. For those of you who survived the nightmare of shifting to a WFH business model, practically overnight, you sincerely have my undying respect and admiration. If you have already, or intend to, bring everybody back to the office to continue ‘business as usual’ the Pants Optional series may not be of much value to you. Those who will benefit most from this series are:

Business Owners forced into a WFH business model with a desire to continue doing so.
Business Owners considering moving to a permanent WFH business model from scratch.
Managers wanting to develop and improve WFH policies, procedures, and communication.
Workers looking for support and advice on how to navigate the surprisingly complex WFH transition.
Anybody already working in a WFH environment open to learning more tips and tricks as this work/lifestyle evolves.

So… Where do I start? Seeing as every business is different, the steps Outhouse went through may not apply to what you will need to follow, but the overall goals will likely be the same or very similar. The primary categories all companies will need to focus on are Technology, Operations, and Culture and that is what this episode will cover.

As an owner, I often found myself the cause of delays because I had stretched myself too thin… “

First, give yourself as much time as possible to plan and research. I started entertaining the idea of going remote 24 months before doing so with some light research 18-months before the move I got very serious putting mostly my own time into researching a transition; then at T-minus 12-months I formed a team of my smartest employees to help make it happen, with me still deeply involved in every aspect. My biggest recommendation is to form a team early, even if it means hiring consultants to do most of the heavy lifting. I sacrificed way more of my own hours towards research, planning and executing than I anticipated or frankly needed. As an owner, I often found myself the cause of delays because I had stretched myself too thin, neglecting other responsibilities. Do not do the same to yourself.

Technology

Hardware/software, file sharing, security, backups and redundancies, internal and external communications are going to be your biggest concerns with many unforeseen obstacles along the way.

File sharing was my company’s biggest challenge. We maintain roughly 1.5 million files (15 terabytes) in our active libraries and projects. With 40 people sharing files across 10 states, we still have frequent hiccups and have not figured it out 100%.

Another challenge was IT troubleshooting and hardware issues. To help solve this we moved to outsourcing 24-hour IT support and maintenance. Today, every employee has nearly instant online support for software issues. For hardware failures we utilize Amazon’s same-day/next-day deliveries or in emergencies send workers to pick up hardware at their local electronics stores. It’s rare anything takes longer than 24-hours to fix with most issues being resolved within 4-6 hours.

If you are technology heavy, do not be surprised if your expenses go up instead of down. Outsourcing IT support may be one of those areas. You may also spend more on upgraded cloud software, backup subscriptions, filesharing services, additional hardware for home-office systems, Zoom, etc.

Operations

Standard operating procedures, office space, project management, team dynamics, vendor relations, meetings, working with customers and so much more. Operations is likely going to be the longest and most time-consuming list of challenges to solve, but you will also find opportunities for some surprising wins.

With the luxury of having over a year of planning, we were able to test a lot of systems and processes before the actual move. Internal employee communication is a good example. We moved to Microsoft Teams several months before the physical move and directed our in-office staff to communicate as if they were home.

Operations is likely going to be the longest and most time-consuming list of challenges to solve, but you will also find opportunities for some surprising wins. “

One of the surprising wins was in training new and existing employees. Being able to remotely watch the trainer while sharing each other’s screens was a big benefit over standing over someone’s shoulder taking notes. It was also easier for an employee to call in and share their screen with a trainer to ask questions.

We only had 1 or 2 employees who could not handle working from home. Sometimes you must accept it just isn’t in a person’s nature to work without physical supervision. This is the benefit of our Office Optional program. This at least gives local employees the choice to come back to the office.

Silhouette of group happy business team making high hands over head in beautiful sunset sky evening time for business success and teamwork concept in company

Culture

Many books about business will tell you something along the lines of “company culture is the shared values, attributes, and characteristics of an organization,” but the best company cultures also consider people’s emotions. In an office environment, it’s much easier to walk around, stop by someone’s desk or office and take the temperature of how individuals are feeling about things. People go to lunch or happy hour together. Face-to-face casual/intimate/honest conversations come more naturally in an office environment than over a video call. This dynamic is going to change when people work remotely, and leadership is going to need to adjust to make up for this.

A 2020 survey[1] shows Collaboration/Communication and Loneliness tied for first as the biggest struggles with working remotely. The longer a person works from home, the more likely they will start feeling disconnected from their coworkers, the company, and the leadership. When that happens, it is just a matter of time before they stop caring about the company or the individuals they work with.

The longer a person works from home, the more likely they will start feeling disconnected from their coworkers, the company, and the leadership. “

As a business owner, if you want to set your company up for the best chance of success working from home, be prepared to spend as much time designing new ways to stay connected to your people as you spend solving your technology and operational challenges. Because, well… feelings matter. Yes, culture is about values, attributes, and characteristics of the organization, but it is also about the interpersonal relationships your people share within the company. Developing, nurturing, and maintaining relationships inside a physical office space comes more naturally than in a work-from-home setting.

Many industries will never be able to offer WFH for some, most or any of their employees. The logistics just will not allow it. However, with technology that exists today, and in the future, many businesses are discovering WFH not only works, but may be an even better business model than before.

[1] Buffer.com/state-of-remote-2020