Designing Happiness
Because working from home is the way it’s going to be from now on, Ambet Mallari and his colleagues from HCX have fun doing home makeovers and look forward to telecommuting as the new norm
Words by MARGA CONSTANTINO
Ambet Mallari, 31, arranges the flower vases on his desk. The dust-free surface of his workspace gleams under the warm glow of the wall lights that he had installed himself. Satisfied with his handiwork, he surveys his bedroom.It looks completely different from when he’d just started working from home in March. While there’s so much more that he wants to do to spruce up the house, it’s 8 AM and time to work. Ambet sits down and switches on his laptop. He’ll save the rest of the decorating for later. He can’t wait.
Time to thrive
As the newly promoted HR Operations Head in HCX, Ambet takes his job very seriously. Ambet is a dutiful son and the sole breadwinner in his household. A few years ago, he asked his parents to retire so they could finally relax and enjoy life. It brought him much joy to be able to care for them the way they had cared for him and his brother all their lives.
While Ambet enjoyed being with his family, the daily work commute was gruelling. Every day, Ambet would leave his house in Caloocan at 4 AM and get home at 10 PM. He would be on the road for at least six hours a day just to get to work in Taguig. He hardly had time to see his family, and he was exhausted by the end of each day, but Ambet’s love for his job and positive outlook kept him from burning out.
When Ambet heard the rumors of an impending lockdown, he quickly had WiFi connection installed in his house. This came in handy when the Luzon-wide ECQ was imposed in March, and the entire company was made to work from home. Aside from a few initial hurdles, Ambet’s team adapted quickly and thrived in their new work arrangement. The best part was Ambet no longer had to commute and now had six extra hours all to himself.
One of the shows Ambet would watch for inspo
Finding balance (and a new passion)
Ambet immediately felt more energized during the lockdown. He works strictly from 8 AM to 5 PM, and has not done overtime in six months. He even got to reallocate the budget for his commute to start his passion project: the renovation of his family’s home.
“I really love designing yung bahay, yung interior design. Kung hindi ako naging accountant, siguro naging interior designer ako. So I really like doing ganung klaseng stuff. Ako yung nag-dedesign, ako yung nagdra-drawing ng mga style, ” Ambet said.
Ambet started by renovating his room in June. He wanted to create a conducive workspace so he could maximize his eight work hours. Since he only had a small bedroom, he designed a hanging bed to accommodate a more spacious workstation.
Ambet’s redesigned space
Soon after he finished his bedroom, Ambet enlisted his parents to help renovate the kitchen and bathroom. They are currently working on their dining and living rooms. Ambet is so happy that he is able to upgrade his family home so that he, his parents, and his brother’s family can enjoy their time at home even more. It’s a dream come true.
Ambet’s renovation inspired his teammates to do the same, kicking off a friendly competition of “pagandahan ng home office.”
“Yung renovation ng room ko influenced yung ibang mga direct reports ko. Na-enganyo din sila na mag-renovate ng kani-kanilang room para magkaroon ng sarili nilang space. Which is really good kasi namo-motivate sila na magtrabaho from home, diba?”
When Ambet’s team eagerly posted photos of their upgraded workspaces, the rest of the company started doing the same. Somehow, “sharing their spaces” helped the HCX employees feel connected, even though they had not seen each other in months. In fact, it would be many more months before they see each other again.
Pagandahan ng home office setup
Downsizing the workplace, upgrading the joy
A few months into the ECQ, HCX’s management team announced at a virtual townhall that they would be downsizing their Taguig office to half the current size, and that employees would be working from home until the end of the year. They said that once the renovation is complete, they would adapt a new telecommuting arrangement where employees would report to the office a few times a week, and work from home on most days. This new system was a pleasant surprise to the HCX employees, who were thriving in their home office setups, and were able to deliver quality work on time despite the lockdown.
“Sa company namin, parang okay l lahat sa work from home arrangement. Wala naman naging any major problem about work from home arrangement namin. Kaya nga siguro na push ng management to do that kind of arrangement kasi nakita nila na it really works for us,” he said.
Ambet is very grateful for HCX management’s forward-thinking response to the pandemic. He, like his colleagues, is grateful that the company prioritizes their safety and recognizes how a happy work environment creates a happier office culture, and leads to better, more fulfilling work. Ambet is certain he’ll enjoy his job even more, whether he’ll be working in the new office in Taguig or from his workspace at home.#
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