Remote Work
Since joining Allegis Group in August ‘20, I share about the reality of remote working and my experience joining a new team, new role during the COVID-19 pandemic.
After five long months of being furloughed and unemployed, I officially started the next chapter of my professional career when I joined Allegis Group as a Candidate Manager in August 2020. As Candidate Manager of TEKsystems, I focused on building relationships with working professionals (“candidates”) in the IT industry and help them achieve their next career move. Working alongside consultants, I help these candidates find their next opportunity in Tokyo, Japan.
As Tokyo was facing another uptick in COVID-19 cases, the Japanese government pushed heavily for companies to transition to remote working. Allegis Group Japan went with the recommendation as well. Thus, my first month was to be done remotely.
The first two weeks consisted of intensive training and lectures from my team. I learned about the fundamentals of recruiting, understood the company methods, and honed in on my skillsets as a recruiter. As these training sessions were done virtually through Microsoft Teams, I felt efficient as I continued on from one virtual session to the next with just a click.
However, I realized that I was mentally drained at the end of each day. My eyes were tired from watching the screen all day. And, despite the number of coworkers I saw through these trainings, I still felt detached from the team. I knew the mental exhaustion one can get from working remotely, but I didn’t fully prepare myself for the challenges I would face joining a new team through remote work.
Understanding and performing work is an integral component of a job. But cultural fit and sense of belonging are equally as important. Although remote work helped me achieve the former, it did not expose me to the latter. Therefore, I wasn’t able to truly understand the team culture, build relationships with my coworkers, and learn more about the company. In essence, I felt detached from my work, my colleagues, and my company.
Luckily, as Tokyo COVID-19 cases dropped significantly, we have slowly and carefully transitioned to working in the office. Working from the office with other coworkers has allowed me to see how my team truly operates, how other recruiters work, and what Allegis Group is about. With about two months of being in the office, I am feeling even more connected with my work, my colleagues, and my company.
In hindsight, I am grateful for the experience of remote working as I felt that I learned more about myself and how I approach work. And, on the bright side, there were some perks of working from home (i.e. sleeping in!) But I will mostly, if not always, prefer heading into the office for work and I hope others understand the value and impact of working in the office vs. working from home. It could arguably be the biggest impact to an employee’s working experience and the company’s culture.
