Do you have that one annoying coworker who always seems to show up and hover just as you hit a workflow groove? Or a boss who pulls you away in the midst of a great collaborative working session? What about that guy who interrupts your meeting with loud snores? At Palantir we love all our coworkers, including the furry, scaly, feathery, and floofy ones. As part of a completely remote company, Palantiri have learned to develop a routine with both their own pets and those of their coworkers.
Fuzzy Feline Friends
Cats tend to be the pets who participate most actively, sometimes providing love and calm and sometimes causing mayhem. Andy says his tabbies “remind me to take things slow. To notice the little things and take breaks when I need them. Winnie loves listening in on calls."
Another advantage? “They get to work halftime on projects they feel passionate about.”
While some, like Robbie’s big kitty Chan, provide comfort and care, others, like Christine’s three scoundrels, take their turns batting her mouse off her desk, dancing on her keyboard, and plopping on top of her arms so she can’t type. A recent addition to most meetings is Boimler, Kelsey’s adorable kitten, who makes appearances to chew on Kelsey’s hands whenever he is not attacking his feline brother, Danvers. Says Kelsey of her kitten, “He's such a little menace, he knocked over my coffee while trying to steal my breakfast this morning.”
Puppy Pals of Palantir
The pups of Palantir are equally as eager to both help and harm the workflow, just in different ways.
- Megan’s pups curl up under the desk
- Lucky (Lian’s Shepherd) struggles with reading the clock during daylight savings and distracts by begging for dinner
- Curie and Hopper, Bec’s pups, loudly fight over toys
- Maggie’s rescue mutt Clark attempts to become part of the radiator on cold days.
Some of the dogs can be horribly distracting, such as Tiffany’s Coton de Tulear, Pippin, who sees “all humans and four-legged creatures as a threat to his family, so this protective, big scaredy does his best to bark them off." Tiffany continues, “As such, he is a complete nuisance as a co-worker unless you're looking for snuggles (at which he is brilliant).”
The general consensus is that the canine portion of our Palantir population provides plenty of support, including emotional, social, and psychological. Joe’s late pup Penny “loved to sit next to me while I worked. She'd lay her head on my lap for extra pets. She only ever knew us working remotely, and she loved it. She was my walking companion when I had meetings I could take that didn't require being in front of a screen. At around 4pm every day, without fail, she'd come into the office and start ‘talking’... telling me it was time for our longer walk of the day.”
Maggie’s bestie, Clark, has a similar routine, and crashes her end-of-day meetings, waiting to hear, "Thanks, bye!" so he can start begging for his walk. “Clark helps me work by giving me a mid-day walk and offering dog hugs during the day. I also live alone, so he was extra helpful during the pandemic. Clark says, "I like that Maggie, my person, works from home because I get my evening walk and supper earlier than I would if she had to commute. I also like it because there's a space heater, which she doesn't turn on if she's not home.”
Loads of Love
Palantiri love pets. We know which felines are likely to make an appearance during scrum, and we know which humans might need to go off-screen to tend to canine needs. We also celebrate when Yang’s unassuming bird makes an appearance in her lap, and we even enjoy the pets we don’t see, such as Rob’s Koi, Mr. Fischoeder, who “has one wonky fin and is a homebody,” and Bec’s flock of pandemic hens.
