Working from Home with: Melanie Bender, President of VERSED

Welcome to our new series, Working From Home With.  Today we chatted with Melanie Bender, President of VERSED and someone we happened to love following on Instagram.  Working from home has been an adjustment for most, and here’s how Melanie and VERSED are making the best out of a tough situation…

What is your company’s work from policy (WFH) for COVID?

Beginning in March we shifted to a mandatory remote work policy to prioritize the safety of our teams and their families. We’ve since extended it twice, first through the end of this year and now through next May. Our goal is to ensure safety for all, and also provide a longer-term view so people can best plan their lives. With that longer term in mind, we’ve had team members temporarily relocate all over the country to be closer to family or spend more time in places they love. I’m one of them, and at the moment am working from the San Juan Islands.

Did you have any WFH policies before COVID? 

We’ve always had a flexible work policy with respect to location and time of day with the goal of enabling every employee to best support their productivity and work-life balance. That said, about 90% of folks came into the office on a typical day. We’re a very close knit, collaborative team and our business moves quickly, so having the face-to-face interaction is ideal for most of us. We also happen to really like each other!

Any successes/insights that you’ve gained from the WFH switch?

We’re a lot more adaptable than we give ourselves credit for. I would have thought working from home without childcare for eight months would be the end of me! But I’ve adapted to it and even discovered some new habits I’ll keep for the long haul, like going makeup-free (most days) and being more intentional about celebrating milestones with our team.

What are the major challenges you’ve had since switching to WFH and how did you overcome them?

Now is not the time for perfection. Some days my daughter needs more support, or maybe I’m feeling extra drained, and I just can’t get to everything in the way I expected. On those days, I try to remind myself that my best is good enough. To help keep my daughter engaged throughout the day, I now plan for time to check in on her schoolwork and get some exercise outdoors together, like biking or going on her favorite hike. While a lot of my routine has changed, I’ve also kept some things consistent – like sticking to my usual wakeup time – to help me feel grounded through all this uncertainty.

What does your typical WFH day look like now?

I wake up around 6AM and do a short meditation to clear out the sleep and get focused for the day. Then I always get a sweat session in, which could be running, dancing with Hip Hop Fit or strength training with Sculpt Society. Next is coffee, which I amp up by mixing in reishi, maca and cacao powder. Around that time I’m also making breakfast for my daughter, making sure she’s logged on for classes at 8AM and settling in to work emails. On a given day, I’ll have five plus hours of meetings via phone or video. It’s a lot but is also my time to be connected to our team and our big initiatives. If I don’t have early Zooms, I may wait until 9 or 10AM to do my morning skin regimen, which consists of Versed Wash It Out, Weekend Glow and Guards Up, along with Youth To The People Superfood Moisture Cream and Bare Minerals Tinted Gel Cream. Throughout the day, I’m coworking with my daughter at our kitchen table – the other day I realized that I can’t remember what it feels like to miss her, and that’s pretty incredible. I try to work in some outdoor activity with her around 4PM, and then log off for the evening around 6PM. In the evenings, we’ll eat together and then read or FaceTime with family, and by 9PM it’s lights out. I’ve been keeping food pretty simple and may have eggs and avocado in the morning followed by a salad for lunch and dinner. I am however big on little daily indulgences like dark chocolate and red wine.

You can find Melanie on LinkedIn and on Instagram @AlsoMelB.