Work anywhere for max output
The author was first introduced to the concept of work from home (WFH) in 2005 when I joined a news wire agency based in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. The WFH set up gave me the flexibility and freedom that also empowered me to work exactly where I could be personally most productive.
The whole point of the flexibility that WFH provided me is precisely that I could work from anywhere while managing my time.
Since then, I have worked in a cabana on a beach in Boracay, hotel rooms in the cities of Baguio and Cebu, an island in Palawan, a lighthouse in Batanes, and even a pool side at the family resort in Matabungkay, Lian, Batangas while on a vacation or destressing! I can work anywhere.
The flexible notion also allowed me to maintain an active social life by bringing my work anywhere. I attended family and high school reunions while finishing my deadlines. I worked during parties, birthdays and yes drinking sessions in bars.
Maximum productivity
Because I can work as soon as I opened my eyes, the remote work provided me maximum performance. I was “all-over the world” too. While working as an Asian editor for a Munich-Germany-based financial publication that focuses on alternative investments and hedge funds, I took on a second job as a content provider for a North Carolina-based digital marketing company.
That started my “greed” to take on more assignments. I took a third job as managing editor for an international business news site with responsibilities to publish the Asian editions, and was reporting to its office in Canberra, Australia.
I didn’t stop there. Having tasted liberty in my work schedule and the ability to complete a job faster than my deadline, I juggled with multiple jobs. When my contract with the North Carolina marketing firm ended, I wrote personal finance for UK company, provided editing services to a third-party content provider company in Saskatchewan, Canada for Bank One,
editor for a
Los Angeles, California online publication, another digital marketing company based in the U.S. and Philippine correspondent for a Japanese newspaper. Heck, I even managed the customer relations of a Toronto, Canadabased remittance service.
Rewards
Aside from the financial reward, my biggest satisfaction was the jobs I brought in. Having convinced my bosses that I am a reliable worker, I encouraged them to hire more Filipinos and move their writing and even technical requirements to the Philippines instead of relying with Indian and Malaysian writers.
Hundreds of Indian and Malaysian nationals lost their jobs when those companies I worked for hired Filipinos that I eventually lead.
Personally, I was accumulating knowledge too. I learned about personal finance, alternative investments, hedge funds, ETF, CTA, cryptocurrencies and blockchains, and various forms of digital marketing, some of which local publications are starting to adopt.
No one is left behind
While there is no available tool to measure the broad impacts of remote works across industries and for an extended length of time, initial data showed increase in productivity and lower employee turnover.
Michelle Rubio, chief human resource officer at Union Bank of the Philippines (UnionBank) stated the importance of constant retooling and upskilling of manpower as a key element to ensure that no one is left behind even at this most difficult time when the global economy is hit by the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) outbreak. The promise not to leave any of its employees behind, has always ben a mantra of UBP, she said.
In the pilot episode of the bank’s e-TalkTales — a digital replacement of its
get-togethers with media — Rubio said, “Even prior to the lockdown, we have been retooling our people. There has been redeployment yes because jobs are changing, but that does not mean we cannot teach people new skills in order for them to adapt to evolving times,”
UnionBank’s human resources team has been steadfast in providing different avenues for its team members to learn and develop new skill sets that are relevant in the new digital normal. This includes cross-department training, open conferences and workshops.
People transformation
Rubio emphasized how UnionBank — a champion of digital banking, advocates for teching up the Philippines not just via technology per se but more importantly by “people tech.”
“UnionBank is very much into people transformation. Because technology is driving rapid change, our people need to keep up with that change. When we made a decision to transform digitally, a lot of our processes and ways of working were also altered,” Rubio shared. Multiple times voted as among the best companies to work for not just in the Philippines but internationally, UnionBank adapted the agile way of working which means collaborating with teams most of the time.
“This way of working may be a bit revolutionary for a bank, but that’s how we do things,” Rubio said.
She added that UnionBank puts as much premium to its employees similar to how it does with its customers, believing that if the organization has a positive impact to the lives of the employees, they also do their part to make things positive for the customers.
Freedom and dynamism
The work from anywhere is a perfect encapsulation of the freedom and dynamism all of us deserve, particularly in these uncertain times, with the threat of COVID-19 still linger. A true work from home culture empowers employees the control their work schedule so they will have more time to attend the needs of their personal lives.
At the end of the day, working from anywhere may not save a company any money, but the workplace flexibility is not just about saving money, nor it is intended for long-term social distancing. Ultimately, this new culture allows companies to invest in its employees well-being to increase productivity, and ultimately, profitability.
Having convinced my bosses that I am a reliable worker, I encouraged them to hire more Filipinos and move their writing and even technical requirements to the Philippines.
‘ Because I can work as soon as I opened my eyes, the remote work provided me maximum performance