As we celebrate Pride month, I am thankful I work for a company that values the individuality in its people. I often say to people, both professionally and personally, “People make or break any experience.” It doesn’t matter how great an opportunity is if you don’t enjoy the people! And I also realize that everyone has their own experience, journey, and perspective.
Bringing my full self to work
One of my favorite memories at Recharge is from one of my first meetings with an engineering hiring manager after joining the company. I was new and still unsure of the inclusivity aspect of the culture. Working at a remote company, I love expressing myself with Zoom backgrounds—but going into the meeting, I remember feeling uneasiness in using my favorite background at the time, a picture of the “werk room” from RuPaul’s Drag Race.
The unprompted reaction to the background was an immediate acknowledgment of knowing the show and being a fan, which let me know the person was an ally. I don’t know if that person realizes how impactful that moment was (Tom Mango, you know now!), but it set the tone for my experience. Inclusion is creating an environment where I can bring my full self to work, whether that be via Zoom or while attending an in-person retreat. This happens to be my Recharge experience.
Prioritizing values at Recharge
A sense of community in the workplace is hard to come by, and a company that truly prioritizes its values seems like an anomaly. In tandem with displaying a public signal this month with our redesigned logo, our company supports, respects, and elevates the LGBTQIA+ community behind the scenes throughout the year. Major examples of that support include our inclusive parental leave policy, new infertility health plan options, and recently-introduced employee resource groups (ERGs).
In the simplest of terms, Pride for me is a celebration of diversity. It’s embracing equal rights for all people. It’s a celebration of living your authentic self.
–Christopher Lopez (Lead, Pride ERG)
