What Did I Learn Whilst Working From Home?
Jamie White
Co-Founder & CEO @brandpartnerships.co - the platform to reduce the time & cost of partner discovery
It's no secret that Student Beans has expanded dramatically over the past few years.
We've opened new international offices and have bigger teams across the business, including Product, Engineering, Business Development, Finance, Account Management, and our Brand Team.
So much so, in our London office, we'd begun to run out of space, and needed additional break out and meeting rooms for our growing teams.
We were (affectionately) kicked out of the office for 6 working days, and all London based teams worked remotely during this short period.
What did I learn personally during this time...?
1) I missed the commute into London
I live in Kent, about 40 miles from the office in Kentish Town, and whilst some would view my commute as "a long way away", for me, it's perfectly manageable.
Even for those even living in London, a commute of 60 minutes or more isn't uncommon, so "distance", for me, is just a number.
I enjoy being in London during the week, combined with a quieter life nearer the country at the weekend. I love the London skyline, the atmosphere, the cultures, pace of life, and the people are interesting.
For these reasons, I did miss coming into London each day.
2) Communication is possible with great technology
We hold a weekly meeting, across the business, and even with people scattered around the world, and the London office in their respective homes, this worked seamlessly!
Technologies like hangouts, and conference calls, meant we were all connected.
3) I missed our people
I know, I know, it's all a bit "warm and fuzzy"... but working with such a great group of determined, focused and passionate group of people across the business, really is something special, and when they're removed, it just isn't the same.
4) I can go a little "stir crazy"
By half way through the week, I had to venture out into the world. I enjoy my own company, I mean, who doesn't... but I needed a little human interaction, even if the "humans" in question, were just fellow coffee drinkers at the local coffee shop in Rochester.
The question is, do you enjoy working from home, do you find it productive?
Marketing Director
6 年Love this Jamie. I WFH two days a week and it gives me a nice balance, any more and I think I’d miss contact with people a bit too much. It’s also nice to be able to go and work in different places rather than just the house as you get to meet all the other people working remotely in your own neighbourhood.