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‘Head of Team Anywhere,’ and Other Job Titles for an Uncertain Time

Here are the despicable signs of volatile times. It’s a longer post.

Over the past few years, business has been in turmoil. While millions of people are still working entirely from home, many others are starting their commutes in good spirits. The vast majority of people who could work remotely were still out of the office as of the beginning of the year, according to the company. Pew Research Center data.

Career coach JT O’Donnell said: “What’s exciting is not just the number of new companies and new ideas, but the number of new types of jobs.”

Job titles have changed over time. The growth of new technology in the 1980s created the Chief Information Officer. With the influx of politicians into the tech industry, everyone became a chief of staff. In recent years, the competition for talent has turned HR heads into Chief People Officers. The rise of remote work has now been replaced by new positions, but its lasting power has yet to be tested.

“People will try a lot of titles,” added O’Donnell. “Some people go too far and fail. But you’ll see a lot of change in the end.”

Since the start of the pandemic, LinkedIn has seen a 304% surge in titles mentioning “hybrid work” and a 60% increase in titles related to the future of work. Widespread malaise, coupled with labor market turmoil, has also led to the creation of new positions focused on boosting morale.

Here’s a glimpse of some of the new jobs that have emerged from the office upheaval, especially at tech companies and others that are embracing remote work.

Atlassian is a company that makes collaboration software, so when the company went remote in 2020, its leaders felt pressure to keep their collaboration engine running smoothly. Six months ago, the company hired an Anywhere Team Leader. It’s named after the company’s stock ticker, TEAM. Annie Dean, who fills that role, recently oversaw the opening of “focused offices anywhere in the team.” Actually, this office is somewhere (Austin).

Instead of desks and sterile cubicles, there’s a sunny event space, cushy chairs, a chef’s kitchen, and a whiteboard on rollers. “The old model is more about productivity,” Dean said in a video call from his East Coast beach house where his family lives. “Our new model is experience-oriented.”

With mental health issues on the rise, employers are grappling with ways to provide support, especially given the actual mental health care gap. “Responsible”, a title she has held for years, but the need for it has increased during the pandemic.

“Companies need more people who can say ‘yes and’ instead of being bureaucratic at the desk and being the ‘no’ person,” she said.

Mr. Silver’s daily efforts are diverse. Every day at 1:37 p.m., I help organize his online programs for staff, including interviews with Novak Djokovic and talks with employees about homemade hot sauce. She publishes her staff newsletter, Heartbeat, and also leads “Courageous Conversations,” where employees talk about challenging events in the news.

“You’ve probably noticed I’ve said the word connection about 20 times,” she said. We need it right now at the right time.”

Some companies are sticking to their idea of ​​workplace flexibility, considering either a full return to the office or a commitment to full telework. Samantha Fisher, who heads her dynamic at her Okta cybersecurity firm, wants employees to feel able to choose the routine that works best for them. Fisher said: “People want flexibility. It’s not necessarily ‘I don’t want to go to the office.'”

One of Okta’s projects was to set up a work-from-home store so that employees could order office-grade furniture like standing desks and ergonomic chairs.

Remote work can be so tricky that many companies keep the relevant job title simple: the remote manager.

But the reasoning behind their roles may sound more grand.

Murph sees his role as a kind of workplace maintenance. It’s just that the workplace isn’t physical. “Remote businesses also have skyscrapers,” he said. “You can’t see it.”

Murph assumed the position of remote lead at GitLab before the pandemic normalized working from home. In 2019, the company was holding face-to-face meetings on how to make remote work effective, and someone encouraged the team to identify a leader to focus on that project. I am a big believer that you can do it anywhere. Just the other day he adjusted his schedule so he could meet his baby niece in the afternoon and watch the sunset over the Outer Banks.

About five years ago, 3M, a manufacturer of adhesives, laminates, orthodontics, masks and other products, Investigation It had some troubling consequences: public enthusiasm for science was low.

Dr. Seth works on projects that inspire people about science, from planning events with astronauts to making documentary films about women scientists. Dr. Seth found himself particularly busy at the start of the pandemic, a divisive political moment when many challenged the expertise of public health leaders. Or as she put it, “We’d like to say that science is having its moment.”

Meghan Leibstein, who leads product management and flexible working initiatives at Zillow, hopes more companies fill roles like hers, but that doesn’t mean “work is part of our lives.” How can we change the way we show up?” she explains.

Her company became telecommuting in 2020. Certain workdays may include Reibstein’s team planning retreats, participating in office renovations, and advising colleagues on how to get the most out of meetings.

People she meets are often intrigued to hear that her work focuses on making working from home effective. “They’re a little bit taken aback when they hear that I spend a lot of time thinking about it, because that’s what happened in the world,” she said. If you’re building something with a lot of complexity and a lot of unknowns, you have to provide resources.”

The leaders of a company called Gtmhub, which makes management software, had a problem. No one spent time as the face of the company. So they decided to appoint someone as a “product evangelist.” Jenny Herald describes her role as professionally brand-obsessed. She runs a podcast about her Gtmhub, writes posts for her social media about Gtmhub, boosts internal morale and chats with customers.

“I can’t tell you how many times I’ve been told ‘Jenny, I heard your podcast and that was one of the reasons I wanted to join Gtmhub. I feel like I’m talking to a celebrity.'” Herald said. “Every company needs someone to let them know what the company stands for.”

Roles like “chief evangelist” can be questionable, but career coach O’Donnell argues that it’s a positive thing. what will you do? ‘ she said. “That’s why we’re changing the title.”

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