EBF in the home office: How our employees work – Michael Bedros

The corona crisis has also brought about some changes for EBF: To protect against the virus, all employees have been working from their home offices for several weeks now – from IT consultants and account managers, who are otherwise often on site at the customer’s premises, to accountants and developers, who usually work in the office. As an IT service provider, EBF was, both technically and organizationally, well prepared for the full range of work from the home office (read more in this blog article), and offered home office opportunities even before COVID19. Therefore, the changeover also worked smoothly on an ad hoc basis and all customers could continue to be supported remotely. Nevertheless, working from home permanently was new for many of us. And of course, we also had to develop a plan B for some processes that could not be transferred 1:1 to the home office, and we also had to rethink the issues of employee management and motivation. The past few weeks have been a new challenge for all employees and managers and have brought many new experiences.

EBF colleagues report on their experiences of eleven weeks in the home office and the EBF’s measures – starting with Michael Bedros.

Michael Bedros

Michael Bedros

Cloud System Engineer

Michael Bedros works as a Cloud System Engineer at EBF. He is responsible for the administration and monitoring of EBF’s IT systems and server environments, but also for the hosting structures of our customers. He has been working for the company since February 1, 2020 and is just being trained by his colleagues in the Cloud Team – a special challenge in times of COVID19.  

What does a typical working day look like for you in the home office?

My day usually starts around half past eight with the first coffee and a breakfast. Then I start my daily tasks.

Every two hours I take a break from the screen for about five minutes. The lunch break is timed similarly to the office, between 12 and 13 o’clock. I like to sit on the balcony or in the garden for this. My working day ends around 6 pm.

How has your work for EBF changed? 

I can do my daily tasks just as well from my home office. As a new employee, I have almost completed the familiarisation phase, but questions still arise from time to time.

My colleagues always have an open ear for them. However, it is of course much easier to quick ask someone in the office. In my home office I write to my team via Microsoft Teams. Sometimes I have to wait a little longer for feedback so there are some delays.

What works well, where do you still face challenges?

I notice that I can concentrate more intensively in the home office. I live in a shared flat and can work in my room all day without being disturbed. This means there are far fewer interruptions and disruptive factors than in the office. I also like the fact that I can save two hours of commuting time.

As already mentioned, the training is challenging, since it is of course much easier to do in the office. I solve this by actively approaching colleagues with questions – you can’t be shy about that. It is also difficult for me now to get to know other colleagues with whom I have not had any intersections in my career so far. In everyday office life, it’s easy to get into conversation in the coffee kitchen or at a summer party – it’s not so easy to do that from the home office.

How do you keep in touch with your team / colleagues?

Our regular team meeting is also still held remotely. Additionally, there is a digital “Meet & Greet” with the team every two days. This helps us to keep in touch and to exchange private matters as well.

What do you take away from the situation?

Before Corona I very rarely worked from the home office. In the last few weeks, I realized that technology can replace many, but not all, of the things that are important to me in my work. This is, for example, spontaneous contact with colleagues from other areas, for example during a smoke break.

Are you looking forward to returning to the office or do you like working from the home office?

I am very much looking forward to returning to the office and seeing all my colleagues again soon. Of course, there’s also a lot more going on in the office, so I’m now enjoying a welcome change from the somewhat monotonous time in the home office.

More Employees Experience

How have other EBF staff experienced the work from the home office? Read the experiences of Viviane Linne, IT project manager, in the next blog article.

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