Worcester Business Journal

wbjournal.com | January 11, 2021 | Worcester Business Journal 19 C O W O R K E R S & O F F I C E S B E S T O F B U S I N E S S F or most of the decade-plus that Laura Rogan has had her cats Buddy and Bella, she's headed off to work most weekdays and le them to be by themselves at home. Like a lot of habits, the coronavirus pandemic has changed that ritual. Rogan, especially early on during the pandemic, stayed home in Auburn instead of heading into the office, where she's the head of the property man- agement division at the Worcester real estate firm NAI Glickman Kovago & Jacobs. Now, instead of having cubicle mates at work, she spent much of her time with Buddy, a tabby, as an office mate. Bella, a tuxedo or bicolor breed who is Buddy's sister from a different litter, can be, well, a bit more finicky about how she shows her affection. Buddy, on the other hand, is always happy to hang out and be close by when Rogan is working. Rogan adopted Bella first, from a work friend whose cat was expecting a litter. A few months later, another litter arrived, offering a chance to give Bella a friend. As cats can oen be, they don't always get along. ey'll be 11 years old this spring. A picture Rogan shared this summer showed Buddy hanging out with Rogan on their back deck, a summer home office that made some of the pandemic far easier to deal with. ose sunny, warm days didn't last forever. More recently, Rogan switches back and forth between working from home and heading into the office, though she's able to easily do much of her work remotely. She hasn't been meeting with tenants as she normally would, and Glickman Kovago & Jacobs has scheduled workers to be in the office at different times to limit capacity. Laura Rogan's home office was made sunnier by her cat, Buddy BY GRANT WELKER Worcester Business Journal News Editor Rogan's thankful to have had a chance to have Buddy for an office mate, and glad that sharing her photo made others appreciate their own cat, dog or other co-workers. "We all need a bit of positive stuff right now," she said. BEST REMOTE OFFICE Laura Rogan Title: Senior property manager Company: NAI Glickman Kovago & Jacobs, in Worcester, glickmankovago. com Remote office: Auburn Started working from home: On and off since March 2020 Best remote office feature: My cats, Bella and Buddy Most frustrating remote office feature: Not having face-to-face time with my colleagues Do you prefer working at your remote office? I like both! My work environment is very safe so I'm fortunate to be able to do both. It's nice to have a choice. BEST COWORKER - RUNNER-UP Pippin Gardner Title: Assistant to the social media specialist Company: Vision Advertising, in Westborough, vision-advertising.com Time spent employed at Vision: Pippin became an official co-worker in March 2020 when the company went fully remote. Main responsibilities: Assist with social media content creation and offer moral support Favorite things to do: Snuggle with the fluffiest blanket around and play with her favorite toys Pippin, the cat of Vision's Social Media Specialist Catrina Gardner, is a great team player, and she's always willing to help with content creation, especially when the work involves getting lots of treats. "It's wonderful having a fluffy co-worker as company this year," Gardner said. "Without Pippin, I would be alone with only Zoom calls for social interaction. Pippin provides some much needed interaction and can even be a great listener when she needs to be." n BEST COWORKER - RUNNER-UP Rorschach Title: Director of security Company: Slowey McManus Communi- cations, in Boston and Worcester, www. sloweymcmanus.com Years employed by Slowey: One year, as of Jan. 1 BEST COWORKER - RUNNER-UP Tortie Grenier Department: WFHomeland Security Company: Mirick O'Connell, in Worcester, Westborough and Boston, mirickoconnell.com Years employed at Mirick O'Connell: Four Main responsibilities: As head of Work From Homeland Security, Tortie is responsible for inspecting all boxes entering the premises, making sure everyone eats multiple times a day, keeps an eye on employees at all times while pretending not to, checks to make sure all laptop cords are not loose (by loosening them!) and greeting all visitors. Favorite things to do: Eat, sleep, play, snuggle (in that order) As the cat of Maureen Grenier, Mirick's director of marketing, Tortie is reliable, as she makes sure Grenier is up on time (to feed her); she has her routine down like clockwork (sleep, eat, snacks, sleep, play); she knows how to have fun; and she is a great listener. During the pandemic, she doesn't judge her owner if she spends the day in her PJs or with hair in a messy bun. "She has brought so much joy into my WFH days and when I need a hug, she is more than happy to provide one!" Grenier said. n Main responsibilities: Finding dropped food, interrupting client meetings Favorite things to do: Hiking at Mount Wachusett, chasing squirrels Slowey McManus is a pet-friendly company, so all pets (Dougie, Tess, Evie) are welcome to join online staff meetings. Rorschach, the dog of princi- pal partner Jim McManus, is one of the best co-workers in Central Massachu- setts because he's a good boy, never complains, and is always wagging his way through. n Bears. Beets. Battlestar Galatica. Tortie takes her job at Mirick very seriously. The view and companionship Laura Rogan gets to enjoy at her home office. Slowey's director of security & chaser of squirrels W

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