Flexible working: Understanding the advantages
Technological advancements have resulted in a world where communication across continents is as simple as the push of a button. Having recently worked from South Africa (my country of birth) and collaborated with our US team — I can personally testify that technology has made the world a smaller place. It has ultimately presented us with the ability to work remotely — whether permanently or for brief periods of time.
This blog aims to take you through my journey of collaborating internationally — across different time zones — and the reasons why remote working opportunities are healthy, inclusive, and beneficial for career growth.
A South African adventure (SA)
I think the best way to start this blog is by taking you through my seven-week adventure — the memories that were made and the joy of time spent with family. I think this helps build a little bit of perspective when we talk about things like healthy benefits and inclusivity.
When I joined Credera, I had already been living in the UK for about a year. At that point, I was ready to plan a trip home, and wanted to start the conversation as early as possible. This was a little intimidating, seeing as I was a graduate with no record of consistency and therefore provided no reasons to be trusted with such a big ask. Initially, I had asked for roughly four weeks off (the norm being two weeks at a time) to fly back to South Africa and spend time with my family. As I learned to navigate my US-based project (which was my first) and the challenges of remote working that came with it, this soon extended to a period of seven weeks — with three weeks off and four weeks working remotely. At the time, this meant working doubly (triply? I don't know) remotely. Imagine — working from South Africa, on a US project, whilst being UK based — my utmost respect for HR, Resourcing, and Legal for being able and willing to navigate that confusing and messy request.
At the start of my period of leave, I landed at OR International airport at 8 am on a Sunday morning — sleep deprived and smelling like a shoe. I was both excited and nervous — not really sure what to expect after such a long time away. The exhaustion of a 14 hour trip, coupled with the stress from passport control and customs, melted away the second I saw my mom. Two years had gone by and I was finally able to hug my mom again — you best believe I was one hell of a snotty and teary mess. My parents had a ten day trip planned through the Northern Cape, along the coast and down into the Western Cape, with a special first stop. I haven’t seen my Oupa (grandpa) in over three years — he is a healthy and happy 91 years old and has never met my partner (so it was an extra special visit). I think it is fair to say that the memories I got from this day alone were worth more than any benefit or form of compensation I would ever receive in my life.
Having left early the next day, we glamped our way through to Augrabies national park — braving the ice-cold morning to see the powerful rush of Augrabies falls (Aukoerebis — a place of great noise). It is worth noting that I spent these first ten days with little-to-no cell phone reception, and when working in technology, this can be quite a strange sensation. It was a true technological detox — something I would highly recommend.
Mother nature tends to outdo herself when it comes to the African continent. I didn’t think we would be able to see anything more awe-inspiring — but luckily I was wrong. Making our way through arid farmland and rocky outcrops — we spent days hunting the different landscapes of the Namaqualand region. The scenery varying dramatically — from beaches decked with blue shells, to sand so white it looked like snow—every mile travelled was different from the next.
There was one thing I wasn’t ready for though — the endless sea of bright orange flowers that decorate the farmlands this time of year. You best believe my inner Instagram influencer came out — I took an excessive amount of photos — and had no shame subjecting my family to a photoshoot. Every moment of this journey was breath-taking and every moment was shared with the people I love. I got to know my parents all over again — sharing in my dads passion for photography and my mom’s love for adventure.
However, we did experience a couple of bumps in the road along the way. We got a flat tyre — which we then fixed — only for it to burst a day later. We took a couple of wrong turns, almost got stuck in the sand, and ended up in the middle of nowhere more than a few times. With every interesting encounter, however, is an upside. The scenery kept us company when we tried to navigate our way through dirt roads and jagged rocks. We managed to buy a tyre in the place we least expected it — the isolated Tankwa Karoo National Park. Finally, we did not get stuck in the sand — but we did get to see the terror in my partner’s face on the realisation that he would likely have to help dig us out if we did. An endless amount of beautiful and heart warming memories.
At the end of our ten day adventure —we made the trip home to Keurboomstrand near Plettenberg Bay. My partner was back at work whilst I spent the next week and a half beach side — taking photos and practicing my programming. These days were blissful and felt almost therapeutic — it was definitely something I didn’t know I needed.
I was back at work one week later — having made the 18 hour drive back to my hometown Nelspruit in the Province of Mpumalanga. Mornings were spent sweating through internal cloud computing tasks and client requirements (I was no longer used to the 36 degree heat of Spring in the Lowveld) — whilst evenings were spent with my folks. I have to say there is nothing quite like a home cooked meal after a long day.
Work-wise, I found that I was able to focus as well as I would have focused if I were to work remotely from home. I think this is likely due to the fact that I had spent the better part of eight months having done so and was therefore practiced when faced with temptation and distraction. The only difference was that I was surrounded by loved ones and was constantly being fed (parents tend to do that).
Working from home came with some small challenges — I cover them a little more extensively later on — but I would be lying if I said it was all smooth sailing. However, I would say that the challenges I faced were more to do with the fact that we were busy both at work and after work, and there was no real ‘down time’. It felt a bit like a waste of time to do nothing — especially when we had limited time left before going home. This became more apparent when I travelled through to Johannesburg (Jhb) and stayed with each set of in-laws. Most of the extended family — as well as our close friends — live there. We would go from working, to socialising, to talking about work, to bed, and then back to work again.
We spent our remaining weeks making the most of the time we had left — seven weeks tends to go by quickly. We attended a close friend’s wedding, went venue hunting on our own, and spent many an evening around a braai (bbq) with family. I was even able to take a CSR day here and help out within the local communities — something I hope to share in the future. I think it is fair to say that there is a lot of benefit to being able to work flexibly and remotely. My heart is full for the first time in two years.
Healthy benefits and inclusivity
Moving countries came with a harsh reality — limited leave coupled with expensive flights. At best, I was likely to see my parents once every two-to-three years for a couple of weeks at a time. Looking at my folks, who are now of retirement age, it is a possible that I will be able to count the number of times I get to see them again on my hands. This is a reality that many people face. I feel lucky to have found Credera, because they truly seemed to understand this, and were willing to let me go home (to South Africa) for about seven weeks. This did depend on the client’s needs, of course, but they were willing to work with me to form a plan. To me, this is a prime example of a healthy and inclusive benefit. Having an organisation empathise or try to understand the struggles people like myself face is invaluable and rare.
I remember having a chat with one of my mentors about the difficulties of living abroad. One of the things that I had to come to terms with was that my family won’t physically be there to celebrate our wins and comfort us through our losses. We had no one to share our key moments with (other than each other). I graduated alone, in my living room, through an online ceremony (I think many people can relate to this one). Afterwards, I sort of just sat there — I was able to call my parents whilst my partner was at work, but I couldn’t help but feel lonely. Extending those thoughts to future events — our parents and friends wont be there when we buy our first house or if we start a family. Going home we were able to share — even if only a little — some of our life plans, events, and successes. We were able to look at wedding venues together and discuss what we want in a home. It made us feel more excited about those moments — it felt precious.
On the note of inclusivity — we are living in a world where diversity is not only important, but is incredibly beneficial. Having diverse opinions, cultures, thoughts, and skills is ultimately what we strive for. Looking at London alone — we have so many different cultures and people who reside there — many who have family and friends in different countries. Supporting our employees and advocating for work-life balance means supporting their personal interests and family dynamics. When I first joined Credera, I spoke to my appraiser about the possibility of going back home, and HR got in contact almost immediately to understand how they could best support me. To me, this is incredibly healthy, compassionate, and inclusive.
That being said — inclusivity can take on many shapes and forms. To be truly inclusive means to be invested in your employees. It is about understanding what is important to them and supporting them by being flexible. Whether that is new parents who are navigating the stress and excitement of a new family member, immigrants who want to go home to their loved ones in different countries, cultural groups with different traditions, holidays, or religions, it is ultimately about being interested in them as people.
International collaboration
My first project was a front-end focused opportunity with our US counterparts. Our client was a pharmaceuticals company that requested a series of brochure-like websites — each associated with a different product and consumer need. I primarily worked with a small team on developing one of these websites for consumers who struggle with psoriasis and psoriasis arthritis — something that is quite close to my heart.
My team was scattered across the US with varying time zones of their own and many of us had not met in person. Our primary source of communication consisted of a daily stand-up and Teams meetings. Many people might think that by working remotely, you do not build any real relationships or experience the company culture. However, by spending eight months on this project, I found that I had never felt more trusted, valued, and wanted. I have built some incredible relationships with my team members and connected with many of them on a personal level.
You may be asking — how? Simply put, we made time to get to know each other. We had a show and tell session every Tuesday and Thursday — which is an excellent way to share cultures, hobbies, and adventures. Other things included wrapping up the sprints with some conversation about the week or anything new happening, one-to-one meetings, and collaboration using platforms like Gather. After eight months, I have not only learned a new tech stack and worked within an interesting market — I have also learned about a different continent, different cultures, and made some really good friends in the process.
Career-wise — I have also had the privilege of experiencing informal and diverse mentoring from my fellow team members. Having multiple mentors with diverse backgrounds and across continents can only result in a more well rounded life experience. I have been able to work on both my technology and consulting skills — something that was only possible due to the small nature and skillset of my team. Another benefit of working across time zones is developing some crazy time management skills — as well as setting boundaries and learning when to hold back. Navigating a seven-to-eight hour time difference can be interesting. I had to move around engineering days, start a little later, and end a little later than normal, and ensure that the work that was being done was in the right state for my team to pick up whilst I was sleeping.
Working with our different branches also means building a broader network and having established some reputation. Project-wise, I believe this gives me more opportunity. However, it doesn’t come without its challenges — what I build in reputation across the pond, I lack here in my home country. This means putting in some additional time contributing to internal projects and putting myself out there a bit more — not a bad skill to develop. All-in-all, I would recommend working on at least one international project — it can only teach you something new.
Challenges
Ever heard of “load shedding” ? I think almost every South African is familiar with this term. This is when your electricity supply is interrupted to reduce and avoid excessive load on the provisioning plant. In South Africa, this is normal and something we experience quite regularly — dare I say, daily. We get different stages of load shedding — each indicating when and for how long your power is going to be out. As I am writing this, we are in stage five, which means the power is out for about eight hours of your 24-hour day. Luckily, this doesn’t happen all at once — for my designated area, the power is out 6 am — 8 am, 2pm — 6pm, and 10pm — 12pm. This means approximately four hours of my working day is without electricity — fun.
Working in tech means that I need access to wi-fi and a plug point, else I will be in serious trouble. So when I get to about 1:30 in the afternoon, I will pack up my things and move to either a café with wi-fi or sponge off family/friends who have a different schedule. I consider myself lucky — others do not have the luxury of packing their things and moving to a different area.
Admittedly, load shedding isn’t the only challenge. Moving from family to family (I have two sets of in-laws, as well as my own parents and an older brother) can be a bit disruptive. Making time for friends after work is also exhausting. We finish our work days and then go out for dinner and drinks almost every night. That is a lot of socialising that we have had to cram into our trip and can be a bit draining. It can also be emotionally taxing — we have had to say goodbye multiple times, all over again, knowing that the next time I see some people (including my folks) is a year from now. It was still worth it, but it doesn’t get any easier — if anything, I think it gets more difficult.
Another consideration is client projects — I had wrapped things up with my US team whilst in South Africa and it was ultimately time for a new project. At the time, this came with some complications. To start a new project means working for a new client — some of which require you to be in the UK due to their data-across-borders policies. This is obviously not ideal, and is limiting in terms of the type of projects that I can join, but luckily not too restrictive as we have a broad range of international clients.
Key benefits of flexible working
To conclude this blog, I think it is important to summarise some of the benefits of being able to work flexibly — at least from my own experience. The first is getting back time — the most valuable thing we have. When I work from home and avoid a daily commute, I am given back the time to do my admin, spend time with my partner, and do my chores.
These are things I would typically reserve for the weekends — and this would mean that I have no real down time to decompress and ignore the responsibilities of life. Other than being able to balance the chaos of life and work, I get the time to see my family and friends. I think we can all relate when I say that there is nothing more important than being able to have that time with the people we love.
Flexible working has also given me the opportunity to travel and work from anywhere — as long as I had internet. Being able to travel to different parts of South Africa meant I could experience new things and learn new life lessons. I could also split my time with different family and friends that are scattered across the country. Not only that, but I also found myself with more opportunities when being able to work with our non-UK based clients. I think it is only a good thing to be able to experience different work cultures and open myself up to interesting and different industries.
Working from home has also helped me to reduce spending. I save money that I would otherwise spend on commuting and buying lunch or nice coffee. Yes — it is possible to not buy lunch and coffee, but in reality, I do not have that kind of self control — and I will end up with a nice hot chocolate or cappuccino. It is also possible to move closer to London, but my rent would go up and my standard of living would likely decrease. I don't know if that is something I should or want to be giving up. This doesn’t mean I am unwilling to travel or be flexible for my clients — if I want flexibility, then it is only fair to be flexible myself.
So far, my experience with Credera has been nothing but positive. They have been supportive in my ask to go to South Africa for an extended period of time, and checked if there were any internal requirements and legalities that needed to be sorted. We are always encouraged to go into the office, but not forced to, and the company are understanding of our personal situations. We have employees on remote contracts spread across the UK and then we have employees that are based in certain areas. Credera embraces flexibility like they embrace technological change — with a modern understanding that change and flexibility can be beneficial for everyone.
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