Behind the Screens at Slite

How did you set up your remote office?

Did you turn your home into an office? Or did you make your office look more like a home?

The Slite team has been remote for years. And one thing we've learned is that a happy workspace is a place that reflects who we really are.

Today, we're asking people to pull back their digital curtains to let us into their everyday spaces. The result is a virtual office tour that may tell us more about who people really are.

Check it out.

The Recreation Roomers

Some people keep their jobs close but their passions even closer. Maybe it helps to burn down the perception that we're simply who we are at work?

Pierre, CTO 🌭

📍 Nantes, France

"I like to listen to the radio or music while working. I also have a fan blasting to filter all the bloody pollen. Behind my desk, I have my training bike with gears that are ready to absorb the frustrations, conversations, and all the other words ending with "ations" that a good day at work provides."

Charley, Editor Lead

📍 Paris, France

"I have a standing desk but used it for a week before giving up. I'm probably as sedentary as a human can be. And don't trust the pens on my desk, they're only there for fidgeting."

Alexandre, Backend Engineer

📍 Lyon, France

"This room is going to be my rework project as I plan to redo pretty much everything and turn it into a cozy plant-filled wood/industrial style office. Aside from being a backend engineer, I'm also a musician so I need my space to be efficient for sound work. My standing desk helps me take care of my position during the day, and the huge window on my right gives me plenty of light to enjoy during the summer."

The Standers & Dancers

Just like the soup spoon, a chair is an invention that can never be bettered. Don't tell that to a person with a standing desk (or someone with one of those post-modern Hag chairs) 🤫

Vaida, Head of People ⛵

📍 Barcelona, Spain

"A standup desk is key to being content in life because... I love dancing. And dancing while working makes it 100% more fun during the workweek. I also need a lot of light and oxygen—so I have a few plants 🌵 and a big window 🔅 overseeing my neighbor's two cats."

The Friends of Chaos

Some people prefer to live in the intensity of a disorderly environment. Could this have anything to do with being in the deafening calmness of Canada 🤷🏽

Marc, Content 🏝

📍 Hornby Island, Canada

"A clean workspace freaks me out. I need things to look at and play with. If I'm having fun during the day, the joy will transfer over to my work."

Alex, Senior Support

📍 Montreal, Canada

"I'm starting to think I thrive in chaos, in all aspects of my life. My tech always looks like an octopus, with cables floating everywhere. At least one expensive device is sitting at a precarious angle, right on the edge of something, at all times. And the dogs are always near."

The Minimalists for Motivation

There's a quote that says "Clutter is nothing more than postponed decisions." These people have understood and applied that concept (provided they remember to water their plants).

Eric, Editor Engineer 🔧

📍 Karlsruhe, Germany

"Just having a nice place which is inviting to sit down really helps me to stay motivated and be productive, even on days where I don't really feel like it."

Laure, Product Marketing

📍Paris, France

"I like a calm and cozy environment to work in. Luckily, I found a great spot in Paris just a quick bike ride from home. It's bright even on the gloomiest days and I'm always happy to get there in the morning and see the friendly faces I share the space with. My desk isn't the most tidy and I always have random post-its laying around."

Fadeelah, Product Manager

📍 Berlin, Germany

"I’m still getting my home workspace set up, just need a few plants here and there. I’m definitely one for big clean spaces though, so I try to keep a space that helps me stay sane."

Alison, Frontend Engineer

📍 Lyon, France

"I arrived a couple of months ago in Lyon—current capital of Slite, 2K21—and even though I've always been more of a nomad worker, I always make sure I have my essentials: a second screen, a pencil and its ASMR sharpener, lots of water—one cup is never enough to make you realize you haven't drunk enough. And my glasses, which are far too often on my desk ..."

The Office Shufflers

Have you ever ordered a fruit salad only to find that they gave you only ONE cherry? That's a serious violation of the unspoken rule of fruit salad variety right there.

Whether these people like fruit salad is irrelevant. But one thing they do like is variety in where they work.

Clément, Marketing 👀

📍 Lyon, France

"I love breaking the routine of having just one place to go every day. At home, it's more about having a calm corner to work on deeper topics. While going to my coworking space is a more energizing ambiance: I'm surrounded by artists & sound technicians who speak about their new tracks, sound amplification systems, or album cover. No SaaS talk at lunch!"

Chris, Things 🤷

🌍 Berlin, Germany

"I can't really stay static for long. I have to be able to stretch, change spaces, and even move while I'm taking calls. So the dual office/coworking setup is ideal for me.

Besides the gear—the only bits that matter to me are my chair and my MacBook. Whenever I'm in a new city I love finding a coworking space with human touch, where people know each other, share laughs, and hopefully: lunch.

Cherry on the cake: a place where you don't just have tech startup people. It really helps to stay lucid about our industry when you're the exception rather than the rule."

Brieuc, Sales

📍 Marseille bb, France

"I work in whatever sunny space I can find where there are other people around me, even if they're not part of my team. My work happens from a coworking space, from home (rarely), or from a friend's place like today."

Guillaume, Lead Mobile Engineer

📍 Saint Malo, France

"I generally go to my coworking space in the morning after bringing my 2 daughters to school. Then I go home for lunch and stay there for the afternoon. My tiny home setup was inherited from the lockdowns. I like to have a view on my small garden—especially when the sun is here. (Yeah I know what you're thinking about sun in Brittany but sometimes it comes out for more than 5 minutes—even twice a day sometimes 😁 ! How about that?) We're thinking of having a proper and bigger desk for my wife and I in a dedicated room someday."

The Remote Romantics

Some of us have the good fortune of working next to our better half. Sometimes, our better half is so much better, that they get the extra monitor.

Antoine, Full-Stack Engineer

📍 Paris, France

"No coworking space during COVID, so I work from home near my girlfriend. Sometimes she has to mimic weird animations for her job, which makes for funny moments while I sit next to her hunting down bugs."

The Backpack Butterflies

For the exotic among us: Mongolian nomads typically drink called "Airag," a form of fermented horse milk. Probably only a matter of months before this becomes the next fad in every startup fridge (*ahem* cold brew, yerba mate, pamplemousse sparkling water).

Until then, here's how the more itinerant choose to work.

Julien, Mobile Engineer 🏝️

📍 Carcavelos Beach, Portugal

"As I like moving and changing places to work, I try to blend comfort and mobility. I have a bare minimum setup that can fit in my backpack, so I know I can feel at home whenever I open my laptop—whether it's a coworking or a coffee shop."

Benji, Engineering Manager

📍 Lyon, France

"I'm quite used to moving around. I have a minimalist and portable setup that I can bring anywhere so that I get to spend more time with the people I love! Being able to jump into coworking spaces or stay over for full weeks at my family's house/friends' flats is true freedom while also being able to focus as I'm less in a hurry for weekends. But still, I have a really good setup at home where I spend most of my working time, with some furry friends that are always hungry for cuddling."

Clara, Visual and Product Designer

📍 Imsouane, Morocco

"Chaos freaks me out (poke Marc), yet I'm currently taking refuge in a tiny surf and fishing Moroccan village where everything is messy 🤷. Though I only need my MacBook to work, I can turn a place upside down in order to make it feel homey, clean, and comfy to work in. Clear space, clear mind you know. So that's exactly what I did... trimmed down the flat and workspace to the bare essentials: laptop, pen and paper, and mint tea now—local version of water. I would usually add a good set of ear-pods and music, but ocean view and waves win the trophy here."

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What about you?

How have you chosen to live this new remote lifestyle? Which persona do you identify with? Or maybe you have one of your own?

Tell us about it—or even better—show us your setup by answering this thread.

In the meantime, wishing you a remote day full of freedom, wonder, and satisfying work. 🌅

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