Picture this: unlimited paid vacation days, unlimited study or personal days, flexible work schedule (you work whenever you feel like doing it), trips around the world and top notch health care. Awesome, right?
These are some of the things I learned about Manas when I first reviewed the Handbook that Nico sent me before inviting me to a job interview for a Marketing position. To add some background, I read it while on vacation, relaxing after finishing a really stressing consulting job, and as I read more, I started to think “this can’t be true, he’s bluffing, there’s a catch”.
I went on that first interview and I met with Nico and some team members. <%= bold "It turned out to be the longest and funniest interview I’ve ever been a part of."%>
They all told me the same: we have amazing projects, we travel a lot, we really don’t have a fixed work schedule, we don’t have bosses, we work smart rather than hard, and everyone at the company knows everyone else's salary. <%= bold "They also told me that every six months they have a work review in which everyone participates and salary raises are determined by everyone's opinions."%> Another interesting thing they told me was that the company finances are available for all employees to see, and that they have organic fruit in the kitchen (yay!).
I felt a “click” during this interview. After a few minutes in, and once all the uncomfortable introductions were out of the way, I really started to have fun! I listened to and answered their questions, but I also asked questions myself, and I had a great time talking about projects and experiences. Interviews are usually uncomfortable, and I wasn’t feeling like that at Manas. I told them about my worst projects, my consulting disasters (a big no-no in job interviews) and my own requirements for working happy and being productive. After 4 hours I left the interview excited about the future, and really curious to see if it was all true.
I have to admit that I’ve never felt “great” working in the context of a big team (I wanted to improve on this aspect), and I’m a big fan of transparency in companies, so <%= bold "having the chance to be part of Manas truly seemed like a gift."%>
Around 45 days later I started working in Manas, still thinking “I’m sure there’s a catch, this is too good to be true”. Days passed and I started to meet everyone on the team, and as I got to know everyone it hit me: <%= bold "it was real."%>
Flexible work hours and unlimited vacations are great examples of the perks that Manas can offer, but the real deal is how proactive, productive and responsible the team is. <%= bold "Unlimited vacations are not a problem when you have 20 staff members really committed to the projects they are working for, proud and happy of the work they are doing."%> And I know this may not sound fun to you, but believe me: it really is. There’s no better environment to work than with a motivated team. You start to have fun and be productive.
While I appreciate all the flexibility I get, I’ve come to understand that it’s more about working comfortably, having a life besides work, and being able to say “I really love what I do”.
<%= bold "Today I celebrate my third month anniversary at Manas, feeling extremely proud to have the chance to be a part of amazing projects, with a great team and a company that (really) cares for its employees."%>
I can take a long vacation, I can skip work on monday, I can work from my bed…but the thing is, I don’t want to, I want to go to work!
<%= bold "So, thanks Manas for proving that it was all true."%>
Cheers.
María