Hokies at Work

The pandemic has caused massive disruption across the globe from its effects on school-age children to working professionals. It has forever changed the landscape of the workplace and continues to impact the future of work.
As more companies deploy phased plans for return to work in a physical office space while others work remotely from home, Virginia Tech wants to know: what does the current workplace environment look like for Hokies around the world?
Virginia Tech is launching its Hokies at Work campaign, encouraging alumni to answer a few questions and submit a digital image of their current workspace via this survey. The alumni workplace stories will be shared across media channels in hopes that the advice, stories, wins, and lessons learned help strengthen the Virginia Tech alumni community over this shared experience.
All survey participants will receive limited-edition Hokies at Work and sesquicentennial co-branded keyboard stickers. Select participants whose submission content is shared through Virginia Tech media channels will receive a limited edition Hokies at Work swag bag.

Mark Shapiro '02, who works as a senior director of software engineering for Koalafi, shared that his office is currently open. His company has provided flexibility to choose where to work and how to work. Shapiro chooses to primarily work at home and leverages the office as needed.
“One of my favorite ways to collaborate virtually is using my iPad on a Zoom meeting to whiteboard by drawing on the screen,” said Shapiro. “It’s not a substitute for a large board in the office, but at least my pencil never runs out of ink like the dry-erase boards.”
The Virginia Tech alumnus also shared that his organization has supported employees by purchasing monitors and chairs for their at-home setup. Additionally, gift boxes were sent to homes containing food or swag, which was a nice morale boost, he said.
Read more about Shapiro's hybrid workplace environment.
Hokies are encouraged to share their current workplace environment with Virginia Tech by answering this brief survey.