Digital Additive Abroad
What a workday is like for our team members working overseas
At Digital Additive, we’re proud of the office culture we’ve cultivated, and flexibility is a key component. While the majority of our team works out of our Atlanta office, we have several members who work remotely, and even two working in other countries. Senior Designer, AJ, lives and works in Japan while our Senior Front End Developer, Maggie, lives and works in Spain. We wanted to hear about how their day-to-day work experience differed from ours here in Atlanta. Check out their responses below!
Where are you currently living/working?
AJ: Matsumoto City, Nagano, Japan
Maggie: Madrid, Spain
What’s your favorite part of working abroad?
AJ: Faster wifi than the states
Maggie: Living in my favorite city in the world! Starting my day later (6h time difference). Also, the cost of living here is way lower than it is back in the U.S. I’ve really enjoyed being able to travel all around the country and discover Spain — it has such a rich history and so many different regions, cultures, and dialects.
What’s the most challenging part of working abroad?
AJ: The language barrier. There are design communities, tech meetups, networking and industry events, but due to my poor Japanese skills, I miss out on most of them.
Maggie: The 6 hour time difference can be challenging because occasionally I may need to work into the evening in order to make a tight deadline. Luckily, I am more of a night owl and I actually feel more productive later in the day.
What is the biggest cultural difference you’ve noticed where you are?
AJ: The ethos of harmony permeates in everyday life here.
Maggie: Meal times are very different here. Lunch is around 3pm and dinner around 10pm. Also there are way more holidays and holiday weekends here — national holidays as well as local (Madrid region or city).
Does your experience abroad impact your work for DA in any way?
AJ: Subconsciously, perhaps it has.
Maggie: I think the fact that I have a jump start on things is helpful — I can play catch up or have things finished before everyone in Atlanta is waking up.
What’s your favorite food there? Least favorite?
AJ: Favorite? Hard to pick just one…going with Nabe (Japanese hotpot) due to the communal nature of how the dish is shared and prepared. Least favorite? Easy. Natto (fermented soybean).
Maggie: Favorites definitely include Salmorejo — famous creamy tomato based cold soup (from Cordoba / its kind of like the more ‘filling’ cousin of gazpacho in my opinon) — rabo de toro (oxtail), lechazo. Least favorite? I personally don’t like olives and there are more than 200 kinds here..they are the most common tapa.
What’s the cultural attitude toward remote working where you are?
AJ: It’s uncommon. For the majority, workplaces still expect knowledge workers to clock in and out onsite.
Maggie: Socially, everyone here thinks it’s very cool but Spain in general is a bit behind in adapting to a remote workforce, so it’s not as big or common as it is in the U.S right now.
Do you still feel connected to your coworkers despite the distance?
AJ: Technology has made it easier to close the gap with slack, email and video conferencing but every once in a while, I miss going to lunch and talking shop with my friends at Digital Additive.
Maggie: Yes and no. I know there are a lot of things I probably miss by not being present for big office events, but I think my team has great chemistry despite half of us being remote. Communication has never been a problem and everyone is super friendly and helpful.
A great office culture and flexibility are just some of the benefits that come with a career at Digital Additive. Want to know more about our open positions and benefits? Check them out now!
