Remote Work Definitions
A glossary of key terms and concepts in remote work, async culture, and distributed teams. Use these definitions to better understand modern workplace terminology.
Async Brainstorming
Async brainstorming collects ideas independently instead of in a synchronous meeting.
Async Coaching
Async coaching helps employees grow through documented guidance instead of real-time meetings.
Async Collaboration Tools
Async collaboration tools support distributed teams working without real-time communication.
Async Documentation Reviews
Async documentation reviews improve written content without real-time meetings.
Async Escalation Paths
Async escalation paths define how issues are raised without real-time communication.
Async Etiquette
Async etiquette promotes effective communication when team members are not online simultaneously.
Async Exit Interview
Async exit interviews collect feedback from departing employees without a live meeting.
Async Feedback
Async feedback allows team members to review work without real-time meetings.
Async Leadership
Async leadership is a management style optimized for distributed teams that rarely meet in real time.
Async Learning
Async learning allows employees to learn independently on their own schedule.
Async One-on-Ones
Async one-on-ones replace real-time meetings with structured written check-ins.
Async Recruitment
Async recruitment evaluates candidates without needing live communication.
Async Status Updates
Async status updates communicate progress without requiring live meetings.
Async Work
Async work allows teams to collaborate without needing to be online at the same time.
Coworking Space
A coworking space is a shared office environment used by freelancers, remote workers, or startups.
Deep Work
Deep work is the ability to focus without distraction on cognitively demanding tasks.
Digital Nomad
A digital nomad works remotely while traveling or living in multiple locations.
Distributed Team
A distributed team works from different countries or time zones without a central physical office.
Documentation Culture
A documentation culture prioritizes written processes to support async distributed teams.
Employer of Record (EOR)
An Employer of Record enables companies to hire internationally without setting up legal entities.
Ergonomic Home Office
An ergonomic home office reduces physical strain and improves remote work comfort.
Follow-the-Sun Workflow
Follow-the-sun workflows allow work to progress 24/7 by handing tasks across time zones.
Global Hiring
Global hiring enables companies to recruit talent from anywhere in the world.
Hybrid Work
Hybrid work blends remote work with optional or scheduled in-office days.
New Remote Job Search Tips
Strategies to help professionals find their next remote role effectively.
Remote Access Control
Remote access control manages permissions and system access for distributed workers.
Remote Alignment
Remote alignment ensures distributed teams stay focused on shared goals and priorities.
Remote Asset Management
Remote asset management tracks equipment and software used by distributed teams.
Remote Async Culture Deck
An async culture deck documents a remote company's values and principles.
Remote Async Handbook
A remote async handbook explains how employees work without relying on real-time meetings.
Remote Async HR
Async HR manages employee needs without synchronous communication.
Remote Async Pipelines
Async pipelines allow continuous progress in workflows without real-time collaboration.
Remote Async Reviews
Async reviews evaluate work through written formats instead of synchronous discussions.
Remote Async Security
Async security ensures distributed teams remain secure without synchronous processes.
Remote Async Workflows
Async workflows define structured sequences of work for distributed teams.
Remote Audit Logs
Remote audit logs capture user actions for distributed teams.
Remote Autonomy
Remote autonomy is the ability for employees to make decisions and execute work without constant supervision.
Remote Brainstorming
Remote brainstorming gathers ideas from distributed teammates asynchronously.
Remote Career Growth
Remote career growth is how employees advance in distributed organizations.
Remote Change Management
Remote change management updates processes across distributed teams using async documentation.
Remote Communication
Remote communication refers to how teams exchange information using digital tools instead of in-person meetings.
Remote Communication Pyramid
The remote communication pyramid helps teams choose the right channel for each type of communication.
Remote Company Handbook
A remote company handbook centralizes policies and expectations for distributed teams.
Remote Compensation
Remote compensation refers to how companies pay employees working from anywhere.
Remote Conflict Resolution
Remote conflict resolution resolves disagreements through structured async communication.
Remote Contractor Model
The contractor model hires international workers as independent contractors.
Remote Culture
Remote culture defines how distributed teams communicate, collaborate, and share values online.
Remote Decision-Making
Remote decision-making is how distributed teams make choices without relying on real-time meetings.
Remote Design Docs
Remote design docs communicate feature plans to distributed teams in a written, async format.
Remote Device Compliance
Device compliance ensures laptops and equipment used remotely meet security standards.
Remote Documentation Standards
Documentation standards define how distributed teams write and maintain knowledge.
Remote Employee Engagement
Remote engagement measures connection and motivation in distributed teams.
Remote Engagement Surveys
Engagement surveys measure team sentiment in distributed organizations.
Remote Equipment Provisioning
Equipment provisioning ensures remote workers receive the hardware they need.
Remote Etiquette
Remote etiquette defines expected online behavior for distributed teams.
Remote Expense Policy
A remote expense policy defines what remote workers can be reimbursed for.
Remote Governance
Remote governance defines how distributed teams create rules, policies, and shared standards.
Remote Hiring Pipeline
The remote hiring pipeline is a fully digital recruiting workflow for distributed teams.
Remote Incident Management
Remote incident management handles outages or issues in distributed teams without requiring physical presence.
Remote IT Operations
Remote IT operations support distributed employees' technology needs from anywhere.
Remote Job Interview
A remote job interview takes place via video call or online tools instead of an office.
Remote Knowledge Base
A remote knowledge base stores documentation, guides, and processes for distributed teams.
Remote Knowledge Sharing
Remote knowledge sharing ensures information flows across distributed teams.
Remote KPIs
Remote KPIs measure performance based on outcomes instead of time spent online.
Remote Leadership
Remote leadership is the practice of leading distributed teams through async-first principles.
Remote Learning Hub
A remote learning hub centralizes all training materials for distributed teams.
Remote Mentorship
Remote mentorship pairs employees for growth using async-friendly communication.
Remote Offboarding
Remote offboarding securely transitions employees out of distributed organizations.
Remote OKRs
Remote OKRs align distributed teams around shared goals using measurable objectives.
Remote On-Call Rotation
Remote on-call rotation assigns distributed engineers to handle urgent incidents across time zones.
Remote Onboarding
Remote onboarding introduces new hires to tools, processes, and culture without in-person meetings.
Remote Onboarding Checklist
A remote onboarding checklist lists all steps required to prepare new hires for remote work.
Remote Operating Model
A remote operating model defines how a distributed organization functions day to day.
Remote Ops Runbooks
Ops runbooks document operational procedures for remote incident response.
Remote Password Hygiene
Password hygiene ensures safe credential practices across remote teams.
Remote Payroll
Remote payroll processes salary payments across different countries and currencies.
Remote People Ops
Remote People Ops manages HR processes across distributed organizations.
Remote Performance Reviews
Remote performance reviews evaluate employees asynchronously with documented feedback.
Remote Postmortems
Remote postmortems analyze incidents through async documents rather than meetings.
Remote Project Management
Remote project management coordinates work across distributed teams using async-friendly methods.
Remote Proposal Process
A remote proposal process formalizes how ideas are proposed in distributed teams.
Remote Recognition
Remote recognition highlights achievements in async-friendly ways.
Remote Rituals
Remote rituals are recurring digital practices that build team identity.
Remote Security Policies
Remote security policies protect organizations operating without centralized infrastructure.
Remote SLAs
Remote SLAs define response-time expectations in async-friendly environments.
Remote Standups
Remote standups are daily or weekly async status updates replacing real-time team huddles.
Remote Strategy Document
A remote strategy document outlines long-term plans for distributed teams.
Remote Team Agreements
Remote team agreements are written rules teams follow to collaborate effectively.
Remote Team Building
Remote team building strengthens relationships among distributed teammates.
Remote Time Zone Mapping
Time zone mapping helps distributed teams understand overlap and plan async work.
Remote Trust Building
Remote trust building strengthens confidence between distributed team members who rarely meet physically.
Remote Visibility
Remote visibility ensures an employee's work is seen and recognized in async environments.
Remote Work Burnout
Remote work burnout is emotional or physical exhaustion caused by prolonged remote work stress.
Remote Work Policy
A remote work policy defines expectations, tools, and guidelines for distributed teams.
Remote Work Productivity
Remote work productivity measures how effectively an employee performs outside a traditional office.
Remote Zero-Trust Model
The zero-trust model requires continuous verification of access in remote environments.
Remote-First
A remote-first company treats remote work as the default operating mode rather than an exception.
Remote-Friendly Company
A remote-friendly company allows remote work but is not fully structured around it.
Salary Transparency
Salary transparency means openly sharing compensation ranges within a company or job posting.
Take-Home Assignment
A take-home assignment is an offline task candidates complete independently during the hiring process.
Technical Screening
Technical screening evaluates a candidate's practical skills for remote engineering roles.
Timezone-Independent Work
Timezone-independent work allows collaboration without requiring team members to be awake at the same time.
Virtual Meetings
Virtual meetings are real-time online discussions conducted via video or audio platforms.
What Is a Remote Job
A remote job is a role that can be performed from any location without requiring presence in a physical office.