Companies invest increasing amounts of money in their offices so that they can be more attractive employers. But is this really what it takes? Is it really a breathtaking office (stunning design, great recreational space, comfortable lounges, smart gadgets, etc.) that makes people join and stick with a company? We don’t quite agree. More and more stats are revealing the benefits of working remotely. We tried to dig deeper into the topic but eventually decided that we didn’t need any over-mysticized policy on home-office working; instead, we’d just be as flexible as possible while staying rational.
“I love home office days because my room is my creative space. When it comes to creating new campaigns or engaging in strategic planning, I get at least twice as much done from home as I normally would at the office,” says Vivi, our content marketing manager.
Zsuzsi, our cloud consultant, also likes to start her workday at home: “Armed with the perfect stress relief secret weapon – my cat – I can effectively sort out complicated questions and come up with great concepts. After a productive morning, I prefer joining the guys for lunch at the office. I could never imagine not being present on a daily basis since I find personal contact essential in my position. Lots of little personal details are lost in remote communication and I love having face-to-face time with my colleagues.”
Our developer colleague – a father of a toddler – appreciates flexibility as well. “On weekdays going to the nursery and running errands are an awful struggle. I start working from home between 6 and 7 am. Later I come into the office and leave around 3 pm so that I can skip the traffic. This routine not only boosts my mood but my productivity as well. On the other hand, working full-time from home would make me feel like an outsider.“
At Aliz, we trust our people to manage their time flexibly in multiple situations. Our head of business development, Szati, is in Singapore for six months to build our client relationships there. Instead of asking him to sit in the office 9-5, we let him decide which environment and working hours he finds most comfortable to work in (including some trips to neighboring countries). This became a part of our company culture.
“My favorite way to start the day in Bali is watching the sunrise from the beach. Afterward, I go negotiate a deal with a Singaporean client, and in the afternoon I open the sales meeting with the Budapest team. Since the company has two distinct office spaces, the whole culture has been already prepared for an ‘online coworking model.’ We are masters of Hangouts, WhatsApp, Google Docs, etc. Although I enjoy the amazing tropical working environment, I can’t wait to go home. I really miss the drinks after work, the parties, and the informal chitchats in the canteen. It’s much easier to contribute and be part of the company culture when I’m there with the others.”
We work hard at building a winning team and company culture. These aren’t just buzzwords we throw around, but real values of which we’re proud. We believe that the essence of a harmonious atmosphere is its people. Interesting tech, exciting projects, and fancy materialistic things are nice to have, but relationships and shared memories are just as important. We doubt that we could ever come up with a universal workstyle; everyone has different needs. The most important thing is to figure out how our people can find their own balance to boost their productivity, either by staying at home or working closely with their teammates at the office or a mixture of both.
Interested in learning more about our company culture? Check our previous blog posts.
