Netherlands, Latvia, Russia: how the remote works – 3

We conclude a series of conversations about remote control. A designer from the Netherlands, a front-end from Latvia and a project manager from Moscow-based Mail.ru shared with us how their working days go and how the work is arranged in the remout format. What does the genie have to do with it? We tell under the cut. Share your uninstall insights in the comments.


Rustam Sultanov

Mail.ru, project manager Boosty.to, Russia Moscow

Macbook pro – the main working device, I use it only in conjunction with an Apple mouse and an external keyboard, connecting to a monitor, except for situations when I take a laptop on a business trip (ha-ha, business trips …). Unlike the laptop, I bought the monitor myself – it’s Dell with a 165 Hz matrix. I used to think that high hertzovka was a whim, but then I tried it and I can’t live without such a smooth picture.

The photo shows the second pair of keyboard and mouse, they are connected to an ordinary desktop (actually under-desktop) computer. For me, this works as a separation of work and personal space, I switch to it, for example, to play games after a hard day. The keyboard is some kind of cheap Chinese mechanic, and the Razer mouse is as simple and reliable as a hammer.

HyperX headphones with mic, can be used for calls, but in fact I use an ipad for calls. At the top of the table is a JBL bluetooth speaker – I listen to music all day. The table, armchair and lamp are some of the usual from Ikea.

Also in the frame:

Neon tree – created a New Year’s mood, but I am in no hurry to clean it up, as expected.

Notepad and pen – I write on paper less and less, usually I just draw scribbles.

Something strange from the cubes – some kind of analogue of fidget spinners, I just twirl it in my hands when I’m immersed in thoughts.

Like many companies, we went to work remotely in March, and no one seems to know how long we will stay. However, whoever really needs or wants to go to the office. To do this, take the test right at the entrance to the office, wait for the result, and if everything is ok, then you can work for three days. As far as I know, there are plans to simplify this procedure for those who are fully vaccinated against covid.

I have mixed feelings about retirement: I dreamed of living and working in other countries, but the seemingly harmful Genie fulfilled the desire, because trips abroad were covered with a copper basin. But I still like this format. Hopefully, in the near future, more companies will switch to a hybrid model of work, when the office becomes a place where you can, and not need to go.

I don’t remember about any separate bonuses from the company, but in general, everyone who needed was helped to transport office items home, up to armchairs. Who needed additional monitors and other devices – they were bought without problems even before quarantine.

The rethinking of many things in life has become a feature of remoteness. For example, I found out that I live in a very small apartment. Before the covid times, I spent very little time at home, in fact I only spent the night. And now, on the contrary, I wanted to have more space around me. Yes, and a question mark was added to the desire to continue living in Moscow. I look forward to the times when borders will be open again and remote work will become a regular mode of work.

Cyril Zima

Designer, Netherlands

Remote since April 2020, almost a whole year. Based on the government’s plans, I think if we go to the offices in October 2021 it will be great. In general, for myself, I accepted the fact that this year I will need to work from home.

The pain or happiness of working remotely depends a lot on who you ask. For example, I cannot live without people around, so for me – okay, if everything works as usual (cafes, shops, museums) and you can travel. After the lockdown, I would like to work from home 3 days a week, and 1-2 day to come to the office for meetings and workshops. In general, for me, happiness is more than pain, provided there is no lockdown.

When the company went to the remote, they said that you can buy the necessary things for your home office. Then I entered my checks into the spending system and got the money back. In addition, I do not receive compensation for transport (because I do not go to the office) and I do not pay the lunch fee (for the same reason). Everything else remained the same.

My “trick” is to accustom myself to the daily routine, otherwise efficiency will be shattered. Recordings of meetings and email follow-ups is very convenient when the team works in multiple time zones. Include video on the call as much as possible and appropriate to maintain the “humanity” of communication.

Anton Korochinsky

Front End Developer @ Juro, Latvia

Last spring I spent 3 months away, and when I was allowed to visit the office, I returned. You can come to our office, so I go there without any problems, and occasionally – once a week, sometimes more often – I work from home.

For me, the worst pain is the first weeks of the remode format after the office and vice versa. The change of scenery drastically knocks down the regime, and at first it is difficult to get involved in work. When you have already tuned in, there are no problems.

Although there have been places of work in my life where I dreamed of total remoteness, now I cannot imagine such a thing. True, I think these were naive youthful dreams: I am a fan of live communication, without it it becomes sad. Yes, and my wife works from home all the time, so working side by side in a one-room studio is too close.

Although there are pluses: I can listen to music at home with open-type headphones or speakers. In the office, such a high is achievable only with a separate office, probably. Plus I’m a fan of mechanical keyboards, and among my colleagues I have to keep it very quiet so as not to annoy them. But at home a very, very loud keyboard, but very, very beloved. Yes, and the opportunity to escape somewhere in the middle of the day, breaking it into 2 parts, is wonderful – how many surroundings I explored at lunch, working from home last spring, can not be counted.

Now I like to go to the office more, first of all, because of the amazing team. There is also a standing desk, fitness balls and all sorts of cool seating stools, you can alternate them throughout the day, and your back will be very happy. Well, the road takes me 30 minutes on foot, the ideal duration to cheer up and switch the context. In general, it seems to me that the main thing is to learn how to build a workflow without pain both in the office and at home – and then there will be happiness everywhere.

While the office was closed, we dismantled the work chairs – such goodies from the company. And after the end of the lockdown, the company offered to stay away from those who wanted to, and bought the work equipment for employees to go home.

My “trick” at the distance is a vinyl record player. I couldn’t find another such cool way to pause in the middle of the working day, except to put on a record, stick for half an hour and not think about anything. The point, of course, is not in the music, but in the process that takes me somewhere there. If it were not for this opportunity, I think, I would completely refuse to work from home (subject to an open office, of course).

And then there is my wolf Vasily, blue on the column. He is my old companion in development, he has been hanging out with me for 8 years already, we even attend conferences for a couple.

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