In the mountains of India, under the palm trees of Cape Town or on your own balcony: many dream of working flexibly. At PAIR Finance, we have been making this possible for our employees since 2023. We explain exactly how in this blog post.
Our headquarters in the west of Berlin has a lot to offer: modern facilities, fresh fruits, vegetables and drinks, a beautiful roof terrace, perfect public transport connections, but above all, the irreplaceable direct exchange with other professionals. Many of our employees appreciate this exchange even more when they have just moved to the city and want to find a connection.
Nevertheless, in our international team of 31 nations, everyone has their own ideas about the best mix of face-to-face work and work-from-home. To find out what our PAIR team members really want, we conducted a survey. The result: our team would like to be able to choose as flexibly and individually as possible when they work in the office, from home or at another location.
The challenge for the PAIR Finance People & Operations team: to find a solution for the different areas. After all, some activities require a greater presence in the office than others. A very important point for us is the issue of data protection, to which we attach great importance in the interest of our employees, clients and consumers. Among other things, we regularly conduct internal data protection trainings.
The result is our remote work policy, also known as the “mobile working framework”. Most of the team members in Berlin work hybrid according to this policy and can work from home to a certain extent or, after consultation with the manager, at other locations in Germany. In most cases, the proportion of working from home outweighs the presence in the office (for example, 2 days in the office, 3 days from home). Those who prefer it the other way round can also come to HQ more often. Our employees are free to work more in the office one week and less in another, as long as they respect the Remote Work Policy, which prescribes a certain percentage of presence in the office.
Since 2023, PAIR Finance also offers “workations”, where employees work mobile from abroad for up to six weeks at a time per year, subject to various conditions.
Implementing a flexible solution is a major challenge for our People & Operations team. When enabling mobile working, various legal areas such as data protection, tax law, labour and social security law have to be taken into account. Countries outside the EU are much more complex to consider. Another aspect is, of course, the different nationalities. This makes each case an individual case in processing. Unfortunately, there is no one-fits-all solution yet.
Sabrina Meya, Team Lead People Operations
In principle, our employees must consult with the People and Operations Team and their direct supervisor in advance. Especially for stays abroad outside Europe, the earlier the workation is requested, the better. This is because there is a lot of preparation involved. Once everything has been taken care of, the work placement can be booked.
We asked our team what they like about the Remote Work Policy and workations at PAIR Finance.
In the picture: Working with a view of palm trees. The photo was taken during a workation by Ricarda in Cape Town, South Africa.
In the picture: Better than any laptop background: Nishan’s view into the valley at a workation in Kodaikanal, India.
In the picture: Kate’s cosy home office in Berlin Halensee.
In the picture: Lots of fresh air: Judith’s outdoor workplace with her family at Lake Millstatt in Carinthia, Austria.
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