I got acquainted with the computer in the year 1995 and the Internet in the year 1999, and from my over-obsession with this world, I specialized in computer engineering and I hoped to work in a field that ensures that I remain connected to the Internet most of the day. From anywhere in an environment that does not require me to be personally at the workplace.
Around the world, there are many companies that do not require a personal presence at the workplace, and I remember two years ago a meeting with one of the small European companies that provided the SaaS service, and its team members were distributed between Bali in Indonesia, Frankfurt and London, noting that this company does not have an actual headquarters, Basecamp is one of the most famous companies that It has been working completely remotely for nearly 20 years, but the number of its employees does not exceed 57, and examples in this context are many, including TopTal , the recruitment company, InVision, the leader in UX / UI design solutions and Automattic, the parent company of the WordPress application, and the largest technology companies around the world. Its functions are divided into jobs that require personal presence and others that represent remote work.
Personally, I do not like the work environment that follows the time accounting system (attendance and departure) despite my understanding of the necessity of such a system in specific circumstances, and I prefer that which depends on productivity and the relationship between the employee and his direct manager to control the attendance process and measure productivity, and with the coercive conditions resulting from the Corona pandemic and working remotely Compulsory for most governments and companies around the world It became clear that working remotely is not a bad option as it seems, so some companies around the world, such as Google and Facebook, have extended remote work to the middle of 2021.
Locally and regionally, startups are adopting such systems to make the work team smaller and easy to control, but the major companies in Saudi Arabia and the Gulf were very far from adopting such ideas until the Corona pandemic at least. At stc, where I work, the company launched a remote work system in 2017 in a very simple way that includes 3 days of remote work in each quarter, with a total of 12 days per year. This initiative was an excellent basis for preparing the company and employees to work from outside the office, which requires 3 main things:
- Employees (digital competencies) : the presence of a functional staff capable of using technology to work completely remotely (knowledge using e-mail, digital interactions between employees, digital platforms).
- Digital (flexibility) procedures : the existence of mechanisms for full digital work that do not require personal presence (no paper transactions, electronic signature) and their replacement by a digital transformation of transactions.
- Infrastructure : The presence of an infrastructure capable of enabling employees to work remotely (laptop computers – phones and mobile internet – video and audio communication systems for meetings).
After the pandemic, the company’s managers found that maturity or Maturity had reached an excellent level and were tested (compulsorily) and intensely during Corona, and the results were more than wonderful, so the company decided, based on its digital strategy, DARE dared and what it adopted in its new identity last December that the new stc is It is actually digital and not only on paper. Yesterday, I announced a completely remote work policy in a surprising and bold approach. This policy included 3 types of jobs according to the evaluation of the work in it:
- Completely remote work : jobs that do not require presence to the workplace at all, this type will enable stc to employ competencies in areas far from its headquarters, for competencies that do not want to move from its current cities. Imagine that a young man recently graduated in the major of software engineering from Qurayyat, but he He wants to stay next to his family in the far north of the kingdom, it is now possible to join stc and work from his home in Qurayyat.
- Partial remote work : jobs that require physical work at a rate of 75%, telework 25%, or the equivalent of 60 working days per year. This type will be subject to review and the percentage may increase after implementation and proof of the effectiveness of the new policy.
- Fully physical work : This type includes jobs that require direct access to sensitive systems or are subject to high-risk cybersecurity procedures that cannot be managed remotely.
I admit that I am surprised by the company’s decision to activate remote work, albeit gradually, but it is a bold decision for a company of the size and magnitude of stc, this decision proves that the company’s direction towards becoming the number 1 digital potential in Saudi Arabia and the region is a real decision and not media propaganda, and one of several trends in this In the field, it remains that my dream of working remotely in summer from the Arctic and winter from soft serpents or Jebel al-Lawz has become a reality.
