Corporat(e) Confessions: Why it is Awesome to Wear Shorts at Work

When moving from a global IT corporation to 10Clouds exactly one year ago I didn’t really know what to expect. I knew that the devshop atmosphere would definitely be different and that things would be done in another (easier and faster?) way than among all the chains of command and formalities in my previous company. That was also one of the things that inspired me to change my job and concentrate on something that I’ve always found very interesting, but didn’t have time to fully focus on: digital marketing and growth hacking. I wanted to deepen my knowledge in this field, which to me is the future of marketing and the most dynamically changing part of it.

The first thing that hit me was the really relaxed atmosphere, starting from the recruitment process, which was really pleasant and rewarding to go through. I already felt that I became friends with the recruiting people even before I got the job! This atmosphere continued on when I started my first day: everyone worked as a team instead of working for their own benefits and I soon got settled in quite well, although I knew nothing about programming or software development when I arrived at 10Clouds.

One thing that I had hard to adapt to was the flexibility policy and availability to work remotely from home when there was a need. It might sound bizarre, since this benefit sounds amazing when you read the job description, but after working 9 to 5 for almost 8 years, this is something that was very hard to grasp. I found myself coming to work exactly like I’ve been coming for most of my active career and had a resistance towards video calls and remote meetings, which are the cornerstone of a devshop such as 10Clouds (most of our clients are overseas and in Western Europe). Today, I still come in around 9 and leave at around 5 but the flexibility option has given me the chance to go home earlier and work in the late afternoon when I have a bad day or start work at 6 in the morning and work remotely for a couple of hours when I wake up early. I also find Skype and Google Hangouts really useful tools when talking to people!

The flexibility and trust in you from your employer’s side is great, but it also comes with a big responsibility. No one pushes you fiercely to complete annual plans and company strategies within strict deadlines. Here you must have the discipline and force to get things done by yourself with full responsibility for the results (or the lack of them). On the other hand, you have an actual impact on the progress of the company and your work makes a really big difference. This fact is extremely rewarding and makes you very personally involved in what you do.

Another great thing is that you are the expert in your field, which allows you to experiment and try out new things, that would normally have been difficult to accomplish in a big company. Thus the knowledge that you devour comes from actual hands-on experience and not theories or web articles.

I’ve also had the chance to interact closely with many of our clients in the USA, Germany, Sweden or the Middle East, without the need to leave our office: it’s amazing how far you can get on video calls and remote conference technology and not waste time on traveling and frequent pointless meetings, often being the case in bigger corporations.

I could blabber on for much longer on my (mostly positive) observations but I will slow down and make a short reflection. For me it has been a very rewarding change and a journey that has allowed me to learn a lot about the devshop business, new marketing techniques (mostly by experimenting and learning by myself) and about myself as a person. I encourage any corpo-rat with similar thoughts like me to try out the experience for themselves.

Ohh, and I almost forgot: the best thing about this job is that I get to wear shorts at work during hot summer days, something that I’ve always dreamt of! ;-).