At Octopus, we’re proud to be a remote-first company with team members distributed across 17 countries and multiple time zones. This global, flexible way of working presents us with incredible opportunities, but it also poses challenges. One of them is maintaining healthy boundaries and preventing burnout in a world where work and home often occupy the same physical space.
Work-life balance isn’t just a talking point for us. It’s foundational to how we believe great work gets done. Our culture emphasizes outcomes over hours worked, and we trust every Octonaut to manage their energy, focus, and well-being with the same care they apply to their work. That’s why it is built into our company’s values, “Doing a smaller number of things at high quality.” This autonomy is powerful, but it also comes with responsibility.
As a global, home-based team, it’s easy for meetings to encroach on personal time, or for work to spill into evenings and weekends. And because we’re all driven by meaningful work, we sometimes blur the line between passion and overcommitment.
That’s why it’s crucial that we remain vigilant, for ourselves and for one another.
How We Sustain High Performance
Burnout doesn’t always show up as low performance. In fact, high-performing, highly engaged people are often the most at risk. Be alert for these patterns in yourself or your teammates:
- Working longer hours consistently, with little recovery time
- Feeling like you’re constantly falling behind despite working more
- Cancelling personal plans or skipping breaks to “catch up”
- Losing interest in projects that used to excite you
- Becoming more irritable, reactive, or withdrawn
- Struggling with sleep or mental fatigue
- Increasing mistakes, delays, or attention gaps
- Disengaging from team rituals or collaboration
At Octopus, we want you to pay attention to them early on. We want you to do good work, but not at the expense of your mental and physical health. That’s why we’re guided by our values that support sustainable human-centered work:
- Listening to our customers, over following market trends.
We show up fully for customers by showing up fully for ourselves and each other. - Helping each other, over being efficient individual contributors.
We’re stronger together. Burnout isolates; support connects. - Doing the right thing by our customers & team, over short-term gain.
Slowing down to protect well-being is often the most strategic move. - Doing a smaller number of things at high quality, over trying to do everything or hitting arbitrary deadlines.
Focus and depth beat quantity and haste—always. - A bias for action, over risk aversion, or the pursuit of the perfect plan.
Taking action includes speaking up when you’re not okay. It’s courageous, not weak.
How We Support Sustainable High Performance Team Members
- Clear Boundaries
Set working hours that suit your time zone and personal life, and stick to them. Let your team know your rhythm. - Meeting Discipline
We encourage teams to regularly audit their meetings. If something can be async, make it async. If a meeting rotates time zones, share the load. - Time Off is Sacred
Use your leave and when you’re off, truly disconnect by ensuring a handover plan is in place. Breaks are important for sustainable performance, not a pause from it. - Speak Up Early
Burnout rarely resolves on its own. If you’re nearing a limit, talk to your manager. We’d rather shift priorities than risk your health. - Support Each Other
Look out for signs in your teammates. A quick check-in, a kind question, or a nudge to take a break can make a big difference. - Leaders Set the Tone
If you lead a team, model healthy work patterns. Create space for honest conversations about workload, energy, and capacity. What you do matters more than what you say.
Final Thought
Preventing burnout isn’t about doing less; it’s about working in a way that’s sustainable, focused, and human. We want you to thrive at Octopus, and thriving means taking care of yourself first. It’s not a side project, it’s part of the job. And remember, you’re not in this alone. If you ever feel unsure, overwhelmed, or running on empty, reach out. We’re here to help because doing the right thing by our team starts with listening and showing up for each other.
Page updated on Thursday, August 21, 2025