FlexBase with Richi - Akamai Taiwan
Hi this is Omar, from Akamai Technologies.
As the workforce (on a global scale) is shifting from working at an office daily to remote work, Akamai is leading the way with empowering our employees with flexbase benefit. Akamai grants the flexibility to its employees to work from home. Every person has a different set up, approach, and lifestyle that they have incorporated into their work life balance. I had the pleasure of getting to know the style of one of our engineers.
Today, I’d like to introduce one of our Senior Solutions Architects from our Taiwan office, Richi Chen.
About Richi
Richi started fully remote with Akamai in 2020. As a Senior Solution Architect, Richi works digitally each day providing solution advisory to customers, solving complex solution implementations, and also taking time for self study. “I work closely with clients to provide/solve any issues on the Akamai Platform. To provide the best quality of service and deliver the best solutions for customers who are using the Akamai Platform.”
Richi also puts in an extra effort with clients by visiting them twice a week in person. In this way, he can build healthy and strong relationships with customers.
I was impressed by his approach to meet clients offline when he works mainly remote. I wondered if going to meetings or the office was common for Richi. Richi explained to me, initially he started fully remote during the corona pandemic, but now has adapted to a hybrid style of visiting the office once a week. “Why once a week?” I asked. Richi again explained, for him it is important to create a connection with his colleagues. He goes to the office especially when there are company events or wellness activities. He sometimes has a company lunch where he gathers with colleagues to catch up with what's new in the market. Not only about work, but also topics that show how they care for themselves and their families.
It is amazing to see how the employees in the Taipei office connect offline. After hearing about this, I asked Richi about how he is able to care for his own wellness while working from home.
“I will arrange my schedule and plan a week ahead. So I can leverage my spare time for other activities. For example, I can go jogging in the early morning and start working on time because I do not need time to commute to the office.”
Wellness for Richi
Richi was able to set up his own home office, where he feels most productive. Thanks to Akamai’s home office set up allowance, he invested in a nice ergonomic chair which also helps with his “wellness.”
“During covid, I enrolled in some wellness events held on Akamai Spark (a wellness platform and community that Akamai provides for its employees). For example, a webinar to take care of your mental well-being and even an online Yoga session!”
Wellness is a concept that Akamai has taken to heart. Caring for its employees, FlexBase (a benefit in which employees can choose to work from home, office or hybrid as needed), CSR events, and etc. “Flexibility” was another theme that Richi repeatedly brought up during our interview. He mentioned that he is able to work flexibly, especially when he has already planned his schedule a week in advance. The physical flexibility to come into the office as he wishes, work from home, or even occasionally from a local coffee shop helps change Richi’s mood and adapt to his lifestyle.
Akamai FlexBase is a global benefit that Richi has mastered. By deciding for himself to come to the office, build relationships, prioritizing his calendar, going on morning jogs, and so on, he is able to balance work and life to his own personal accord.
If you're interested in joining us, check out the careers page!