Decode wants employees to choose working hours and locations

• The measure is part of the company’s Work-Life Integration strategy, which consists of greater harmonization between the personal and professional lives of the teams
• Remote work was already optional and flexible hours decided by employees will now be tested

Technological Decode is implementing a work decentralization strategy, in which its employees will be able to choose not only where they want to work from, but also their schedules.

This option will come into force in the first half of 2022 and will be implemented gradually in order to assess its effectiveness. Work flexibility is integrated into the Work-Life Integration strategy that the company proposes: the objective is for employees to be able to increasingly harmonize their personal and professional lives.

“We want our employees to feel fulfilled and we know that, as such, they must have a lifestyle that allows for a fluid combination between the priorities of professional and personal life”, says João Reis Fernandes, Executive Director of Decode. “Schedules and places of work must be flexible. Our professionals must work at the times that are most convenient for them, which guarantees them availability to deal with personal situations during the day. This flexibility will have to be, however, convergent with the needs of our customers”.

Decode already has a flexible and decentralized work model in place, with the employee having the option of being in the offices, in Lisbon – where the hot seat & clean desk model –, in the customer’s space (if applicable). this one wishes) or in fully remote. The offices remain open to their employees as they are spaces that not only promote team collaboration and learning, but also social interactions and social interactions.

The company is already moving forward with initiatives of freedom of choice and responsibility that are nuanced in a culture of productivity assessment, in which there are no fixed schedules. “Companies should be less concerned with ensuring that their employees work the number of hours commonly defined from 9 am to 6 pm, because, if so, their income may be far from what would be expected”, says João Reis Fernandes. “Freedom of choice will guarantee greater productivity in daily tasks for two reasons: professionals know their dynamics better than anyone else and know when it is most advantageous to work and then why they feel motivated with the trust placed in them by the company”.

Working from the Work-Life Integration motto

Two of Decode’s basic premises are to guarantee its employees well-being and happiness associated with work and to combat the stigma that the corporate ecosystem has to be rigid and not relaxed. As such, the company is betting on an integration between the professional field and the personnel of the elements of its teams.

“Social connections are fundamental for harmonization in professional environments and, as such, we invest time in creating bonds on topics not directly related to work, such as sports, series or travel”, says João Fernandes. “Social interactions promote a sense of belonging by creating connections between colleagues, making them comfortable with the people they work with.”

To deepen this synergy between individual culture and company culture, Decode created bubbles – digital spaces for sharing different points of interest related to hobbies. Employees can choose those they most identify with and, from there, share experiences on the topics in question or even organize joint initiatives. The strategy involves bringing people with common interests together, which will help to strengthen ties and promote a deeper understanding of what each team member is like.

On an ongoing basis, the technology company will maintain internal initiatives such as CEO Talks – Ask me Anything, in relaxed conversations with the Executive Director, and Meet the Team, in which employees introduce themselves to colleagues. The objective is to promote transparency, knowledge and trust of employees in those who are the foundations of the company.

“More than the balance between personal and professional life, we believe that the integration between these two spectrums is the ideal formula for bringing a more optimistic perspective to the way we look at our jobs”, concludes the Executive Director of Decode. “Work-Life Integration intends that employees do not feel work as an obligation, but as an activity that motivates them, with people they identify with and in comfortable environments, whether at an office table or on a beach terrace ”.

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