#WeAreArity Wednesday: Alexa Tang

What is your earliest memory of this job?

My earliest memory of this job is when I came into interview at the Merchandise Mart with the group that was starting to form as Arity. I walked in for my interviews, and Lisa Jillson was the person who met me.

As we were walking to the room where we were doing the interviews, she would introduce me to people along the way — and everyone was super kind — but I remember as she would introduce me, she would introduce me like, “Oh, this is Alexa. She’s here to talk about the product marketing position.”

It was just as Amazon Alexa was really up-and-coming, and I could just see people stop and their eyes would stutter for a second, and their eyes would say, “Does she know? Does she know?” And I’d be like, “Yeah, like Amazon Alexa, it’s fine. I know.”

So, for some time in my earlier days of Arity, people would call me Human Alexa to distinguish me from Amazon Alexa. Over time, the immediate reaction has dwindled, but I still get a lot of, “Oh, one second, my Alexa in the background is acting up.”

I always remind people that you can rename those; you can change the “wake word.” And it actually surprises me how many people don’t know. In our house, there are multiple Amazon Alexa devices and none of them is named Alexa because that’s not allowed. There’s only one Alexa allowed in this house. So, we have Computer, Amazon, Echo, and Ziggy. It’s very easy to change the wake word.

What is an easy way to do something nice for someone?

I think saying, “Thank you” is one of the easiest, kindest things you can do. I like Arity’s recognition program for that reason. A good, genuine “Thank you” is just a really great way to make people feel valued. And I think a lot of time when people are feeling mean or angry, it’s just they’re not feeling seen and a simple “Thank you” can really, really go a long way.

What was the worst job you ever had?

I enjoyed thinking about this one because in comparison, the culture at Arity is just a glittering star. The worst job I had was my first job out of college. I worked for an architecture firm.

And my great lesson that I learned there is, “Trust your gut.” Because I wasn’t really keen on this job when I interviewed, but I took it anyways because I felt like I should. And another thing I like to say to describe this job is that the day before I started this job, I vomited. Now, granted, I was on a plane, and I get motion sick pretty easily, but my motion sickness was compounded from my anxiety about starting this job that I didn’t really want.

I actually worked there for three years. So, I don’t know if it’s a testament to resilience, or ignorance. I didn’t realize what a toxic environment it was. And it was a very small office. So, we were a satellite office of the headquartered office in Houston. And over the three years, I watched the office turn over three times. And our max number, I think, was eight people. So, really, really small office.

When I first started the job, there was just one long table, and it was four people. We all just sat there, and that was it. And no one talked because two of the people hated each other so much that as long as both people were in the same room, no one could talk – and it was just awful.

And then, over the years, thinking about all the different characters that were in the office. There was a person who made all kinds of inappropriate comments, there was a person who was just really mean and tried to build up their own confidence by insulting others, and there was a person who spent their time over-explaining things to also make themselves feel good. There were just all kinds of unhealthy things that I witnessed, and that I tolerated. And then, once I left that job, I realized that it was not a healthy environment, and you don’t have to put up with those things.

I did make some good friendships out of it, and there were a couple of people who advocated for me as a younger female, especially, and they pointed out some inappropriate behaviors. They’re like, “Hey, we should say something about this.” And so, that was also a great lesson of speaking up and standing up for what is right and not right in a workplace.

One of the things I realized when I started at Arity is that people lead with trust. I started and they’re like, “Oh, your role is product marketing. Please tell me what you think as product marketer.” And I was like, “You’re asking for my perspective? I feel like you’re out to get me.”

And then, over time, I was like, “No, these are actually just people who are working from a place of trust — they’re not out to get me. They’re not trying to trip me up and prove that they’re better than I am or that I’m dumb.” And I was just like, “Well, this is nice. People can be kind, and we can work with kindness. That’s nice.”

And the contrast helps me understand in terms of core pillars of what’s important to me — environment, people, dynamics. That’s really important. I think that one of the top things that we hear from across Arity is that the people are fantastic, and I agree. The people are great.

What is a weird fact you know?

My fact is that giraffes have the same number of cervical vertebrae as humans. They have seven. We have seven. Theirs are just a lot bigger. I went through this phase — well, I still really like giraffes — but I went through a phase, in my adult years, let’s be clear, where I declared that I really liked giraffes. And then after that I got so, so many giraffe things. But, also in that time I collected many, many giraffe facts. So, that’s one of my favorite ones.

What is your favorite thing to eat for breakfast?

Oh, oatmeal and oatmeal always. There’s so many different ways you can make oatmeal. When I was little, my mom would make these really gloppy bulk pots of oatmeal because she was trying to be frugal and efficient. And so she would pre-make the oatmeal, and then she would refrigerate it, and then she’d scoop it out and it’s all congealed and Jello-like, like flubber. And then she glops it into your bowl and you’re like, “I don’t want that.” I just remember it being very unappealing.

But now, as an adult, I actually do like gloopy. And there’s so many different things you can mix into it, and it can be savory, it can be sweet, it could turn into a stew, or it could just be oatmeal. It’s great. I love oatmeal, and it’s very versatile.

What was the first way you made money?

The first way that I made money was off of red envelopes that you get as a Chinese kid for holidays. So, for Lunar New Year’s, for birthdays, for Christmas, or any kind of holiday where you give a gift, it’s pretty common to get money instead of an actual gift. And so, I’d get red envelopes, and the most exciting time of year for me as a kid was February-ish because there’d be Lunar New Year and then it would be my birthday also.

And all of that was on the heels of Christmas too, so I’d get a hong bao, which is the red envelope, three times in a row. I would just feel so rich. It’s just for kids. So, parents give it to kids; aunts and uncles give it to kids. You give it up to a certain age, and then, once you’re old enough, you stop getting money because you can earn your own money.

How do you set up good boundaries between working from home and your life outside of work?

I try to leave the house once in the morning and once in the evening after work, and just reset by going outside and crossing the threshold. It’s like, “Okay, this is a new era of the day. Here and now, we’re going to start something new.”

I have a couple places that I go regularly, but even if I don’t actively change locations, I just think going outside and doing something to reset my location helps a lot. A short walk if I’m staying at home, but I actually end up kind of living between a couple places, like my boyfriend’s house, my sister’s house. So, I often end up changing locations literally, which is also a great separator. But, if I am just staying in one place, going for a walk is the easiest thing to do. And during the pandemic, that was definitely a lot of, “Oh, it’s time to go for a walk now.” But now, sometimes it can be as simple as going to the grocery store, or whatever.

I know we all struggled with work-life boundaries during the pandemic days. When we had to just stay at home, I would actually pack up my workstation at the end of the day. Otherwise, it’s just kind of sitting there. I was like, “Nope, I’m going to put it away, and it belongs in the shelf.”

I like little rituals like that. Now, I open the blinds when it’s the beginning of the day, and I close the blinds when it’s the end of the day.