Remote Work Glossary
1099 Contractor
A US self-employed worker paid without tax withholding, responsible for their own taxes and benefits.
Agile
An iterative approach to building products in small, frequent increments rather than one big release.
Applicant Tracking System (ATS)
Software employers use to collect, filter and manage job applications.
Asynchronous Work (Async)
A way of working where teammates don't need to be online at the same time — progress happens through written updates instead of live meetings.
At-Will Employment
A mostly US arrangement where either side can end the employment at any time, for almost any reason.
Background Check
A verification of a candidate's history — identity, work, education and sometimes criminal record — before hiring.
Base Salary
The fixed, guaranteed amount an employee is paid, before bonuses, commission or equity.
Behavioral Interview
An interview format that asks about past situations to predict how you'll act in the future.
Burnout
A state of chronic work-related exhaustion — physical, mental and emotional — often worsened by blurred remote boundaries.
Company Retreat (Offsite)
An occasional in-person gathering where a distributed team meets to work, plan and bond.
Core Hours
A defined window during which everyone on a team is expected to be online, even if the rest of the day is flexible.
Cost-of-Living Adjustment (COLA)
A change to pay intended to keep up with the rising cost of living or a move to a pricier location.
Cover Letter
A short letter accompanying a job application that explains your interest and fit for the role.
Coworking Space
A shared, membership-based office where remote workers and freelancers rent a desk instead of working from home.
Daily Standup
A short, recurring team check-in where members share progress, plans and blockers.
Deep Work
Focused, distraction-free work on a cognitively demanding task — highly valued in remote roles.
Digital Nomad
Someone who works remotely while travelling or living in different countries rather than a fixed home base.
Distributed Team
A team whose members work from different locations rather than a single shared office.
Employer of Record (EOR)
A third-party company that legally employs a worker in their country on behalf of another business.
Equity
Partial ownership of a company offered as part of a compensation package, usually as shares or stock options.
Flexible Hours (Flextime)
An arrangement that lets employees choose when they start and finish work, within some limits.
Four-Day Workweek
A schedule that compresses full-time work into four days instead of five, usually with no cut in pay.
Freelancer
A self-employed person who sells their services to multiple clients rather than working for one employer.
Full-Time Equivalent (FTE)
A unit that expresses a workload as a fraction of a full-time schedule.
Garden Leave
A period where a departing employee stays on payroll but is asked not to work, usually during their notice.
Ghosting
When a candidate or employer suddenly stops responding during hiring, with no explanation.
Gig Economy
A labour market built on short-term, flexible and freelance work rather than permanent jobs.
Gross Salary
Total pay before any deductions such as tax, social security or benefit contributions.
Headhunter (Recruiter)
A professional who actively finds and approaches candidates to fill roles, often senior ones.
Home-Office Setup
The physical workspace — desk, chair, monitor, internet — a remote worker uses to do their job from home.
Hybrid Work
A model that splits time between working remotely and working from a physical office.
Independent Contractor
A self-employed worker hired for services without becoming a formal employee of the company.
Individual Contributor (IC)
An employee who delivers work directly rather than managing people.
Job Description
The listing that defines a role's responsibilities, requirements and sometimes its pay and location rules.
KPI (Key Performance Indicator)
A specific, ongoing metric used to measure how well a person, team or business is performing.
Kanban
A visual workflow system that tracks tasks as cards moving across columns like To Do, Doing and Done.
Location-Based Pay
A pay model where salary is adjusted to the cost of living or market rate of where the employee lives.
Location-Independent Pay
A pay model where everyone in the same role and level earns the same, regardless of where they live.
Moonlighting
Taking on a second job or side work outside your primary employment, usually in your own time.
NDA (Non-Disclosure Agreement)
A contract that legally requires you to keep certain information confidential.
Net Salary (Take-Home Pay)
The amount an employee actually receives after tax and other deductions are removed from gross pay.
Non-Compete Clause
A contract term restricting an employee from joining or starting a competing business for a period after leaving.
Notice Period
The amount of advance warning an employee or employer must give before ending the job.
OKRs (Objectives & Key Results)
A goal-setting framework pairing an ambitious objective with measurable key results that track progress.
On-Target Earnings (OTE)
Total expected pay when performance targets are met — base salary plus on-target commission or bonus.
Onboarding
The process of integrating and setting up a new hire so they can become productive.
One-on-One (1:1)
A regular private meeting between an employee and their manager to discuss progress, feedback and growth.
Overemployment
Secretly holding more than one full-time job at the same time, usually two remote roles.
Paid Time Off (PTO)
Days an employee can take off work while still being paid — covering holiday, personal and sometimes sick leave.
Pair Programming
Two developers working together on the same code, one typing while the other reviews in real time.
Panel Interview
An interview conducted by several people at once, common at later hiring stages.
Parental Leave
Time off granted to a parent to care for a new child, which may be paid, unpaid or a mix.
Payroll
The system and process a company uses to pay its employees accurately and on time.
Performance Review
A structured evaluation of an employee's work over a period, tied to feedback, pay and promotion.
Portfolio
A curated collection of your work that demonstrates your skills to potential employers or clients.
Proactive Communication
Sharing updates, blockers and context before being asked — the defining skill of effective remote workers.
Probation Period
An initial phase of employment during which either side can end the relationship more easily.
Professional Employer Organization (PEO)
A firm that co-employs a company's staff to handle HR, payroll and benefits — typically within one country.
Referral
A recommendation of a candidate by someone who already works at (or knows) the hiring company.
Relocation Package
Financial support an employer offers to help a new hire move for a job.
Remote Work Stipend
A recurring or one-off allowance to cover a remote employee's home-office, internet or coworking costs.
Remote-First
A company built so that working remotely is the default, with no head office acting as the centre of gravity.
Restricted Stock Units (RSU)
Company shares granted to an employee that convert to real stock as they vest over time.
Retainer
An arrangement where a client pays a freelancer a set recurring fee for ongoing availability or work.
Return to Office (RTO)
A policy requiring employees who had been working remotely to come back to a physical office, fully or partly.
Sabbatical
An extended, often paid, break from work that an employee can take after a period of service.
Scope Creep
The gradual expansion of a project's requirements beyond what was originally agreed, often without more pay or time.
Screening Call
A short first interview, usually with a recruiter, to confirm basic fit before deeper interviews.
Severance Pay
Compensation an employer provides to an employee when their job is terminated, often based on tenure.
Signing Bonus
A one-time payment offered to a candidate as an incentive to accept a job offer.
Sprint
A fixed, short period — usually one to two weeks — in which a team completes a set batch of planned work.
Statement of Work (SOW)
A document that defines exactly what a project includes — deliverables, timeline, price and terms.
System Design Interview
A technical interview where a candidate designs a large software system to demonstrate architectural thinking.
Take-Home Assignment
A practical task candidates complete on their own time as part of a job interview process.
Time Tracking
Recording the hours spent on work or tasks, used for billing, payroll or productivity monitoring.
Timezone Overlap
The hours during which a remote worker's schedule intersects with the rest of the team's working hours.
Unlimited PTO
A time-off policy with no fixed cap on paid vacation days, subject to manager approval.
Vesting
The process by which an employee earns their equity gradually over time, rather than all at once.
W-2 Employee
A US term for a formal employee whose taxes are withheld by the employer, as opposed to a contractor.
Work-Life Balance
The healthy separation between the time and energy you give to work and the rest of your life.