How a work from home (WFH) allowance lets employees find their most productive ways to work
17 July 2024 —The Recognition Group is a fully remote business with a strong operating model designed to foster collaboration and teamwork, and support a culture based on our values. Thanks to a robust toolset and transparent communication channels, our teams deliver high-quality work to tight deadlines without sharing the same office space, or even living in the same city.
In addition, the business provides team members with a work from home (WFH) allowance which lets our employees personalise their work environments and ways of working to suit their individual needs. For example, Adam Soper, senior account manager, and Jack Ebert, marketing consultant live in the hinterland of the Sunshine Coast in Southeast Queensland.
Adam and his family live on 37 acres of rural land, and Jack relocated to the Sunshine Coast when his partner received better job prospects. Both feel their lifestyles are enriched through remote working.
Because he doesn’t need to travel into an office each day, Adam can spend more time on property maintenance. This also means he has more time for his partner and two young children. Adam’s flexible work schedule also lets him spend more time enjoying hobbies he’s passionate about, including coaching a local soccer team, without it impacting work hours or his client service.
Similarly, Jack loves the flexibility of not being pinned to an office and being able to follow his wife, who is a doctor, to anywhere the work takes her.
However, while there are many benefits to remote work, including more flexibility and being able to employ people based on talent and culture fit instead of location, sometimes you just want to spend some face-to-face time with colleagues. Our team members regularly connect with their local colleagues around the country. Adam and Jack have formalised the arrangement by meeting at a local café every second Friday.
Adam Soper said, “I like a change of scenery and seeing colleagues. Working remotely suits my lifestyle and getting out regularly gives me the best of both worlds. I started driving to a café 40 minutes away every Friday, and then invited Jack to join me.”
The arrangement includes a catch-up session followed by working together for the rest of the day.
Jack Ebert said, “The Recognition Group has built a remote system that ensures we all have quick and seamless access to our colleagues when we need them, and it’s also great to occasionally work together, side by side. I can bounce ideas off Adam quickly, I’m exposed to how he works, and I can ask him questions on the fly. There are also huge benefits to having non-work-related chats as well. Ultimately, business is about people, and our culture encourages us to get to know our colleagues.”
The WFH allowance can be used in any way employees see fit, as long as it's work related. This means Adam and Jack can expense lunch and coffee, as well as any data they hotspot through their phones so that they do not need to connect to an unsecured public Wi-Fi network. A team member could also choose to book space in a shared office. We recognise that each member of our team has their own priorities and needs, and our ‘freeworking’ approach means we support them to design their own ways of working to ensure the highest levels of comfort and productivity.