The COVID-19 pandemic has turned the world upside down, and in particular, has changed the way we work and cooperate. Total remote has become the new normal and brought its challenges and opportunities alongside.
What does it take to stay productive when working in the midst of the lockdown? Vladyslav, Lead Software Engineer, working with EPAM Anywhere for half a year, sorts things out and shares his take on this.
Before the lockdown, I mostly worked in the office and was actually skeptical about working remotely.
Indeed, both remote and freelance work requires mastering specific skills essential for productivity and effective communication with your mates. Personally, I would highlight the following five skills I find crucial in this context and I had to master myself.
When working in the office, you focus only on your work. You don't think about internet connection, coffee, or other administrative things someone else takes care of. In the home office, you are that person that has to think of everything: a comfortable chair, good headset and mic, office supplies you may need, coffee and snacks, and so on.
In contrast, when you work remotely, it can be difficult to concentrate, as you encounter many distractors taking your mind off the tasks and enticing you to procrastinate for a while. Good old Pomodoro method with a timer set for 25 to 45 minutes can help you concentrate on productive work. There are other actionable steps you can take to stay focused and productive.
Remote collaboration works in a bit more complicated way. It often takes time to sync up on the call, get to the shared vision, and give maximum information and sense within a minimum time. Hence, it's crucial to use best practices for effective communication in a remote team. One of the ways to do that is to brush up your written communication.
To keep it clear and correctly understood, make sure your messages are well-structured, not too lengthy, and not ambiguous. Also, as your mate may not recognize your message's tone, keep it as polite and constructive as possible.
However, a flip side of this coin is the need to juggle other roles. Choosing the path of a freelancer, you basically become a small company, which should not only deliver high-quality work in time but also:
Besides, your income depends on your work scope. In particular, it means, once you take a vacation or get ill, you're not secured and lose your potential income. Another block you can hit on this road is an indecent customer who accepts the work and never gets back to pay.
During my career path, I've experienced different issues with freelance. Yet, since I've joined EPAM Anywhere, I realized that work could be hassle-free and secure, as this platform brings the best of two worlds: freelance and working as an in-house office mate.
EPAM Anywhere is a remote jobs platform for IT professionals. Yet, unlike other platforms offering jobs and projects, EPAM Anywhere offers something more. Basically, it brings together the best of two worlds: freelance and full-time office employment.
From the freelance perspective, you can still work from any location, stay flexible in terms of your working schedule, and be involved in several projects simultaneously. Sounds pretty the same? Probably, but what distinguishes EPAM Anywhere from freelance platforms is the perks of working at an enterprise-level company. Specifically, you get full legal and tax support, paid vacations, smooth working and communication processes, and medical insurance - like if you were working in the office. Along with that, you get career development opportunities and the whole ecosystem of learning assets to keep mastering your skills and obtaining new ones.
To reach out to all these perks and an opportunity to join one of the Fortune Global 2000 companies, you need to take six easy steps:
To learn more about each step, take a look at this page that closely explores all the details of the process
After nearly a year of working at EPAM Anywhere, I think that the world will never be the same in terms of how we collaborate and communicate. I'm glad that I could join this advanced platform, and if this model sounds interesting to you, don't hesitate to join! Start with exploring job opportunities, and I believe you'll find an exciting project here.