Working for a remote employer

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quickymart

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#271945 2-Jun-2020 23:54

I've been quietly doing online study over the last few months and am getting near the end of it, so have started looking around at vacancies.

I see a few roles here and there allowing you to work remotely, ie, across the world, not just "work at home, away from the office across town". Has anyone on here done this before? Obviously the interview would be over Skype, etc - but what's it like working for a manager that doesn't live anywhere near you and who you may never meet? Just curious as to how/if it all works.

nztim

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#2497155 3-Jun-2020 00:04

My wife did online English teaching with people in South America, it was really good (apart from awkward time difference)

Any views expressed on these forums are my own and don't necessarily reflect those of my employer.

Handle9

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#2497157 3-Jun-2020 00:35

I haven't worked in the same country as my manager for 4 years. In my previous role my boss was in Australia while I was in Auckland. Now my manager is based in Switzerland and I am in Dubai. I've physically met my manager 3 times in nearly 2 years.

It's certainly not for everyone but I really like it. I'm independent and don't need constant support. We are a global organisation so it's reasonably common. It really depends on the company culture. If it's a culture that watches the clock, or if you can't deal with having calls at strange times or on your weekends/holidays/long weekends then it's not for you.

Self motivation and a good manager is the key.

quickymart

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#2497923 4-Jun-2020 08:49

Thanks for the feedback so far, so it can be doable, just may be a bit tricky depending on where your manager and customers are located :)

gehenna

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#2497924 4-Jun-2020 08:53

I've worked a couple of international roles where I was the sole presence here, or one of a small team. It's fine if you have a WFH or remote working ethic to begin with. They'll only keep you as long as you're productive so in some ways it becomes like owning your own business without a lot of the annoying overheads. Other than that I've been remote working pretty much full time for the past 5 years, and intermittently before that. I manage a remote team now which can be very difficult, especially during lockdown, but you figure out ways around it all.

scetoaux

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#2498085 4-Jun-2020 11:54

I teach guitar online and the technology is so good these days that it's really a non-issue. I use Jitsi Meet for video conferencing (similar to Zoom), which allows me to share written materials when I need to. I've rarely run into any problems relating to the fact that it's done remotely, and when I have they've been easy to solve.

timmmay

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#2498191 4-Jun-2020 14:48

I haven't seen my manager or any of my colleagues since a couple of weeks before lockdown started, and we're all working at full speed. It's fairly easy in IT though. I would be fine working for a remote organisation. Having a dedicated home office is essential IMHO.

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quickymart

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#2498412 4-Jun-2020 17:35

Interesting to hear different views of how it works. How does it work with the initial process? (I mean specifically starting for a new remote employer, not working from home like we all are now). Obviously you apply online, and then are the interviews over Skype, I presume?

tardtasticx

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#2498418 4-Jun-2020 17:49

I’ve seen new hires start at my workplace during lockdown and it roughly went like:
- interviews done over Teams video calls
- company laptop sent out to user
- user calls IT for setup of MFA and help with first login
- from there they will do calls with colleagues or manager to get onboard and trained as needed.

May be different at other organisations but it wasn’t terribly hard. Basically anything requiring a conversation is done by voice or video call, and you stay home rather than come into the office.

I work at home full time because of Covid but even before that we hardly saw most of our managers as they are based in Wellington, and me in Auckland. Not a big deal. It really depends on the person so if you need someone in person to talk to and bounce ideas off you will probably hate it. I love it though, I prefer to ask or help over chat if possible so I can get to it in my own time. I’m more focused since I’m not being tapped on the shoulder throughout the day for stuff.

hio77

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#2498421 4-Jun-2020 17:57

I've seen quite a few work remote options out there lately.

With Lockdowns it's also caused quite a spin on things, I had a few catchups with some fairly high above me folk that are quite keen to understand how this might change how we work.

Within my team it's certainly been interesting. working remote has been great for me personally, but I've had to work alot on how to ensure the on floor communication still happens. You nolonger get those hey Person A goes to Person B to discuss something weird, you overhear and go i know what that is! so from that angle there is certainly some lost efficiencies until you work through new ways of working anyway :)

It's certainly something i'd put value on giving it a go as long as the enviroment is right though!

I'm yet to return back to the office, was going to go in today but after having roadworks outside all night long i wasn't exactly in the mood to bounce out of bed and get on a bus!

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Any comments made are personal opinion and do not reflect directly on the position my current or past employers may have.

Handle9

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#2498427 4-Jun-2020 18:04

quickymart:

Interesting to hear different views of how it works. How does it work with the initial process? (I mean specifically starting for a new remote employer, not working from home like we all are now). Obviously you apply online, and then are the interviews over Skype, I presume?

If it's an offshore employer it will depend on the role a bit, especially with the current situation. Preliminary interviews will generally be done remotely and in the current situation probably all interviews would be remote.

I'd be looking to understand if there is an opportunity in the future to have face to face contact with management. There is significant value in occasional physical interactions as it can be difficult to build trust remotely.

The other thing to be wary of is your place of employment. If you are employed by an entity with no onshore presence things like tax and employment law can be a mess. Offshore HR has little understanding of NZ law. If there is a local entity then it's more straight forward.

Handsomedan

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#2498782 5-Jun-2020 10:03

My boss is in Melbourne, my immediate team of peers is spread across Asia-Pac and my direct reports are all here in Auckland.

My boss is only ever a phone call/text/VC away and we catch up regularly enough that I don't feel I need him locally.

I've had local and overseas managers a few times over the years, but I am quite happy with either as long as the management style fits...

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quickymart

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#2525527 19-Jul-2020 11:14

Anyone had any experience working Crossover? They seem to have a few roles going at the moment.

https://jobs.crossover.com/

ANglEAUT

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#2525638 19-Jul-2020 15:19

Handle9: ... It really depends on the company culture. If it's a culture that watches the clock, or if you can't deal with having calls at strange times or on your weekends/holidays/long weekends then it's not for you.

Self motivation and a good manager is the key.

Emphasis mine.

Yeah, you really want to know how the manager will communicate & deal with you. Don't believe words spoken in the interview. Ask for live examples if you can, or to speak independently to your future colleauges.

Also, if you want to see a company doing remote work correctly (in my opinion), have a look at the rework podcast. Especially their recent Going remote series. They are the owners of Basecamp.

Please keep this GZ community vibrant by contributing in a constructive & respectful manner.

everettpsycho

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#2525645 19-Jul-2020 15:55

I'm very intrigued by where this is going globally. I've seen countries like Estonia and Barbados offer remote worker visas where you are free to live and work there as long as you bring overseas work with you. The legality of working in a country but not for someone in that country or being a digital nomad is not really covered by a lot of immigration laws in a lot of places. Could you technically work here as a visitor if your employment is based overseas, or can you work for the overseas company if they have no presence here? It becomes a mess of tax and employment laws if companies start crossing in to other territories they have no local base.

At the moment the new Zealand immigration system all relies on skilled staff having locally operated jobs and they can stipulate the region you should work in. But it's unclear if that is the region your office is based or the region you must live in, it's not at all geared up for working for an Auckland based company whilst living on the South Island.

Handle9

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#2525648 19-Jul-2020 16:05

It's very normal for digital nomads to work remotely on visitor visas. Their employer is outside of the country they are visiting and they are not doing work that is delivered in the country they are visiting. For example doing graphic design work for a company in the US can be done anywhere in the world.

Where it becomes complex is around tax. If you are a tax resident of a country then it can be very complex, particularly if NZ does not have double taxation arrangements with the country you are earning money in.