The journal Nature recently confirmed a long-suspected belief: a stressed and anxious dog owner can create a stressed and anxious dog. Throughout the pandemic, people have seen first-hand how transitions at work and home have affected their pets, and as people return to the office, many are concerned about new separation anxiety for the animals left at home once more.
But as Nature reported, happier people can lead to happier pets, and Modern Animal’s people-first approach to hybrid work mirrors their mission of providing simple, lower-stress and tech-forward veterinary care that works for humans.
According to Anton Kulikov, a senior software engineer at Modern Animal, the company’s hybrid model allows for significant employee autonomy and leads to greater team morale.
“The flexibility it offers is fantastic,” Kulikov said. “I have better work-life balance while remaining productive.” While teams vary in terms of scheduling, Kulikov said that the appeal of working from the company’s brand-new Culver City headquarters has been drawing more folks into the office, while employees still value the opportunity for deep focus while working remotely.
Built In LA sat down with Kulikov to learn more about how Modern Animal’s balance of independence and collaboration leads to better experiences for employees — and, by extension, their pets.
Briefly describe your company’s hybrid model.
Different teams have different standards, but Modern Animal on the whole is very flexible and provides its employees with autonomy. The engineering team comes in one or two days per week. Mondays are our main days in the office, and Thursdays are optional. Active hours for the engineering team are 9:30am-3:30pm, and during this time, we rely on everyone being accessible and responsive. Outside of those set hours, the team has a flexible schedule.
When did your employer implement its hybrid work policy? And what impact has this shift had on the way you and your teammates work?
Thankfully, our HQ team has always been on a flexible and hybrid model. Days in the office tend to have more meetings as it’s a little easier to connect and collaborate face-to-face. But in general, more work gets accomplished during work from home days with fewer interruptions and distractions, and more decisions are made during office days.
What are the main advantages you’ve experienced under a hybrid work model?
I enjoy and appreciate the ability to work and stay on a hybrid model. It is so much easier to plan my weeks. I also appreciate how much I can focus on detailed tasks when working from home since there are fewer distractions.
