Decentralized Sitting: Digital Nomad Working With TX

2022-08-24

The TX office was always full of people coding and mingling until the pandemic struck. Like many other companies, we have also made the permanent shift from remote-friendly toward remote-first. Although the brain hub still lives in Finland, many of our members are scattered in different countries as digital nomads. Here’s how it’s done.

Simply put, the TX members living in Finland are either direct employees or independent contractors. Those outside Finland are hired as contractors or through a third-party global employment platform (GEP). The most important notion of our arrangement is that everyone remains equal. There are no special “external employees” mailboxes or exclusions from personal development support and bonus incentive plans.

So, what does it mean to be a contractor and be equal? It means you are part of the team! And as a team member, you’re expected to contribute actively. We’re not really in the habit of hiring someone as an outsider, giving them a list of deadlines to meet, and then saying goodbye. There is no such thing as “working for TX.” We’re working with each other at TX.

Currently, we are about 30 people strong in locations such as Poland, Spain, Sweden, Vietnam, and the US. Sure, scheduling can require some coordination as we aim to be online during Finnish office hours. However, people go through similar conversations about avoiding morning meetings because they prefer afternoons. Different time zones may even boost collaborative work so that everyone feels energetic at the same time.

The TX Digital Nomad Model

Working as a contractor always includes some extra responsibilities. It’s up to the individual to ensure their taxes, insurances, social security, and other mandatory arrangements are made accordingly, their equipment enables them to work seamlessly, and so on. This is nothing unique to life as a contractor, but that’s the trade-off for being able to work from wherever the sun most shines – or doesn’t shine if that’s your thing.

There are also situations where setting up your own business is not possible or extremely difficult. In that case, we can still work together using a GEP. A GEP essentially employs you in your home country and sells your service to us. This option might suit you best if you prefer to take things easy.

Whichever location and model you choose, we will try to make the transition as smooth as possible. Get in touch with TX by applying to one of our positions or simply drop us an open application.