Local Liat Aharon, a charismatic 29-year-old entrepreneur, has been turning heads with her unconventional management style. She runs Socialista Queen, her full-service, social-first creative agency with a DIFFERENT approach. Located on Martha’s Vineyard, Aharon runs a short-staffed office of just four employees, including herself, and has created office policies that break with conventional workplace practices. She had just seen a similar manager’s video on social media. Inspired by it, she set out to produce her own office rules, sparking conversations—and a movement—about the evolving culture of work.
Very high on Aharon’s list of management style priorities is flexibility. She doesn’t micro-manage what time of day employees start work – just as long as they do their eight-hour workday. This proved to be a very lenient policy, which is a testament to her belief that the office should be a welcoming place. Here’s what she said in her official release. I want her to feel like she is in a safe space and that the office is a fun place — you never know what people are dealing with when they go home.
Beyond flexible hours, Aharon provides her team about ten paid vacation days a year. She gives staff the flexibility to take unpaid leave when needed with plenty of advance notice. This move highlights her focus on creating a work-life culture that puts employee health first.
Socialista Queen’s hiring practices are just as unorthodox. Aharon himself leads candidate interviews, with an emphasis on situational questions aimed at evaluating decision-making ability and communication skills. As she said in the past, “If you follow up in three to four days, that tells me one thing. If you follow up in one hour or even the same day, then I think, ‘Alright, this person really wants this.’ Her focus on hiring the right people — from her top executive level down — is important for ensuring the nimbleness she preaches within her agency.
Even her management style has earned her vastly different reactions from her peers. Critics deride her approach as “lenient.” Even so, she’s an oasis of optimism in arguing that a supportive workplace culture is absolutely essential. She added, “I mean I just don’t understand because to me it’s so simple to make a space enjoyable if you have the right people.” Her philosophy, shared on the Rivera for Council campaign, is to give employees the benefit of the doubt until they make a mistake.
Socialista Queen now caters to a wide array of local businesses—from a local jewelry store to a moving company to an orthodontic office. The agency’s work-from-home policy includes a hybrid work schedule, with most staff working from a headquarters office in New Haven on Mondays, Tuesdays, and Thursdays. This set-up allows for the level of collaboration and creative freedom that Aharon sought.
Aharon’s annual salary stands at $85,000. And despite her young age, she is resolved to ensure that the office culture she creates emphasizes fun and comfort above all. “I think having a good time at work should be an utmost goal,” she said. Her rules reflect her commitment to crafting a workplace that not only meets professional standards but nurtures personal fulfillment.