It’s no secret that workers today want more flexibility in where — and when — they work.
Employees with access to flexible working hours reported 20 percent higher productivity than employees with pre-set, fixed schedules, according to a Spring 2022 report by Future Forum, a consortium of Slack, BCG and MillerKnoll.
What’s more, 43 percent of workers said they would consider a lower-paid role with greater schedule flexibility. More ownership over one's schedule can accommodate other fulfilling activities outside of work, such as hobbies or volunteering.
Maksis Knutins has experienced these benefits firsthand in his work as a machine learning engineer at Generally Intelligent.
The machine learning company embraces a “highly asynchronous” model that supports in-office and remote working — from anywhere. Knutins has employed this flexibility in escaping the drab winter of London to explore sunnier, more cheerful climes — such as South Asia.
Built In SF connected with Knutins for more insight into how he maximizes the benefits of a flexible working model.
Generally Intelligent is an independent research company developing general-purpose AI agents with human-like intelligence that can be safely deployed in the real world.
What are the details of your company’s flexible remote schedule, and what aspect do you enjoy most about it?
The remote working arrangement at Generally Intelligent is incredibly flexible, but also quite specific. As a remote engineer, I work largely independently, taking ownership of research arcs or engineering tasks and taking responsibility for getting them done, reporting progress back to the team and syncing with colleagues on direction or blockers as necessary. While this means less direct involvement in strategic decision-making, it enables highly asynchronous work, so there are no limitations on time zones, working hours or days of week.
The best part about this setup is that I can plan work around my daily life, as opposed to other way around. I enjoy the ability to carve out room for highly focused work where it makes sense the most.
I can plan work around my daily life, as opposed to other way around.”
How has a flexible schedule helped you maintain a better work-life balance?
The biggest one for me is the ability to work from anywhere. Winters can get quite gloomy in my part of the world, so being able to go to South Asia for a few months while working, as usual, was a huge perk -— changing up the everyday setting, getting more sun and traveling a bit really made that part of the year far more enjoyable.
What positive impacts has this flexible schedule had on your team and the ways you connect with others?
I’d say having people work asynchronously across wide time zone differences primarily changes how you treat meetings since the working hour overlap is often short, and hence quite precious. As a result, I find people are more mindful of each other’s time, and meetings are more effective.
