Inspired by the book The Year Without Pants: WordPress.com and the Future of Work!

Covid-19 forced most of us to work from home, since March 19, 2021 there has been 1 year during of which I worked from home. Well, that is not exactly true. In fact I worked from anywhere I wanted 😜!

How I ended up working from anywhere

Everything started when the CEO of Lighthouse, which I am now a former employee, announced us that we will be working from home for the unforeseeable future. While the majority felt this was overwhelming, I was excited. Being able to work from anywhere has always been my dream. Working from home was certainly one step closer to accomplishing that goal. After ~ 1 month an HR operations magician would inform me that I got accepted to start a trial project for Automattic, typically lasting between two to six weeks. It was April 21, 2020. My birthday! What a coincidence? It was the perfect birthday gift, especially if you imagine I had already quitted my job!

What has changed for me?

Work from anywhere

You can work from your bed, your patio, in the beach, in Athens, in Kalamata, in Kea. Literally anywhere, as long as you have a stable internet connection! You can even start working at home and finish in a friend’s home / office.

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Work anytime

Having only ~ 2h in sync meetings per week allows me to have a really flexible work schedule. I can now prioritize family, I can go for cycling when it suits me best, I can take a nap and wake up fresh. Working async has been life changing. No stress to catch a doctor appointment. No worries that I would miss an other bike ride. It certainly made me more productive, if I find myself just staring the monitor I get a break.

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No company wide time off

There are no company wide public holidays. Greek summer is Argentina’s winter. 4th of July is just Monday in Greece, while it’s a public holiday in USA. You need to explicit declare any time off you want. On top of that there is an open vacation policy (no set number of days per year)! There is no minimum or maximum, but we are encouraged to take at least 25 days of time off per year.

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Read more about Automattic benefits

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What’s next?

I hope we leave the Covid-19 era behind us soon. Despite I enjoy being home while working I would prefer being able to travel around the world. Either for pleasure or for work! What I anticipate most, is Automattic’s annual Grand Meetup. It was cancelled both for 2020 and 2021. Holding my breath for 2022, till then let’s make the web a better place.