Sönke in an interview: About a bond with VAIVA that doesn’t count kilometers

Presence versus remote? While many company bosses dream of a presence culture or gently push their employees into remote nirvana, VAIVA offers all colleagues not only the “you” but also the self-determined “and”: All employees are allowed to flexibly choose when and where they work. In our second interview, software and function developer Sönke talks about remote work as a relevant factor when choosing an employer.

Sönke works as software and function developer for corporate measurement technology – mainly remote, 200 kilometers away from VAIVA’s Wolfsburg site. Despite the physical distance, Sönke couldn’t be more connected to VAIVA. In the interview, Sönke reveals why he returned to VAIVA and what to look out for make mobile working work well.

Sönke, where are you currently working from?

From home – I’m sitting in my study. I mainly work from home, but I always come back to the office to meet my colleagues on site – currently about once or twice a month, as I have to travel a very long way. Specifically, it’s 200 kilometers from home to the office – easy.

What do you like most about working remotely?

That I don’t have to commute to work: I don’t have to sit on the train or stand in traffic jams. I like that I can just get my work done and save time because I don’t have to travel. Especially with a child, it is very valuable that you don’t just leave the house in the morning and only come back in the evening, eat, tidy up a bit and go to bed. The nice thing is that you can manage your time flexibly – just as you want.

What should I pay attention to so that working from home or from remote works?

It is important that you have colleagues, you can simply call. For people who are afraid to make a phone call or message a person in a chat, it is certainly more difficult to work remotely. In short, good communication within the team must be maintained. Of course, it is an advantage if you also know each other “live” in order to have a certain interpersonal basis and to know what makes the other person tick. The work task should also be fun. And in any case, it is important to create a reasonable place to work at home. I couldn’t sit on the kitchen bench and work there all day. A quiet place to work is important to me.

You mentioned that some people may also be afraid to call other colleagues. Do you have any tips on what helps against anxiety?

Just do it. The other person is sitting far away – can’t come across so quickly (laughs). Because I was in the office every day in the beginning, I never had any inhibitions about contacting my colleagues. In any case, you should be careful not to withdraw and only look at your own tasks. It is important to exchange ideas – especially if you get stuck on a problem.

You are quite new to VAIVA – was it decisive when choosing your employer that you can also work remotely?

Yes, definitely. In fact, I used to work at VAIVA – ASTech at the time. At that time, however, I moved away from Braunschweig for private reasons. At that time, you weren’t allowed to work remotely – so I had to change employers. Through old contacts, however, I learned that VAIVA offers remote working. That’s when I decided to just talk to Frank and ask what opportunities there are at VAIVA.

Last question: Obviously, you appreciate and like remote work very much. What else do you like about VAIVA?

How we treat each other and the working atmosphere in the company: I can talk well with my team leader and all my colleagues!