Luis Núñez
Software Developer
IT Management
January 4, 2022
Although the pandemic has limited us in many aspects during these 20 months, it is also true that it has opened doors that, at least in Latin America, were rather closed. I am referring to teleworking, a practice that we had to implement by force at the beginning of 2020, but which today allows me to work from my home in Arequipa for a Chilean company with offices in Santiago, Concepción and Calama.
There is no doubt that Covid-19 accelerated a revolution in the area of information technology and that we are facing fundamental changes in the way we live. I am a software developer working remotely from Arequipa, Peru and I am about to celebrate my first year working at Pares&Alvarez, an engineering company that offered me the opportunity, tools and training necessary to develop my work from a distance.
I remember my first day of work, the software development team made me feel part of the group and over the months, I confirmed that the more than 2,000 kilometres of distance between Arequipa and Santiago are not a barrier to the fulfilment of the team’s goals. It is essential to point out that this is feasible thanks to the commitment of each member of Pares&Alvarez in making remote work a reality and effective.
Among the many advantages that remote work provides, I consider that one of the most important is the use of communication channels through digital tools, with which we can create chat groups by teams, hand over control of our computers and share information, making the distance we have not significant, taking collaborative work to another level.
The time difference between Peru and Chile could be a disadvantage for remote work, depending on the station this varies from one to two hours. Although this means that there is no synchronisation with all colleagues, this difficulty is overcome by scheduling meetings at a time when we all coincide or, as we do in the area, to ensure the good performance of the team, I chose to start my workday earlier, which means finishing my daily work earlier.
Another disadvantage faced by all teleworkers is the distractions of home, but with commitment and rigour, it is possible to maintain focus and thus achieve the objectives set.
Finally, nobody knows what the future holds, at the end of 2019 we never imagined that the world would experience a pandemic for more than 20 months, we can only manage the certainties of the present, and for teleworking this is to be responsible, effective and use all the tools available to achieve the goals defined in the teams and adapt to meet the technological challenges.