The travelling life IS for me

Date posted
6 December 2018
Reading time
8 Minutes
Martyn Puddephatt

The travelling life IS for me

Find out what life is really like working at the forefront of Digital Transformation at Kainos in this blog post from one of our Scrum Masters. Expectations Rewind a few months, and you'd meet a Martyn who was in the process of applying to a new company, but doing so with a great deal of trepidation. This would be a completely new way of working for me if I was successful in my application. Potentially being away from home four or five days a week, not being in a single location for more than a few months, not knowing how that works, or what the expectation would be. Would I feel tied to the job? Would it completely ruin any sense of work life balance that is so important to me? Would I feel like I never get to see my family? Reality Fast forward to today, three months into working at Kainos, and I realise that all of the fears and worries I had before joining were not only wasted energy, but completely wrong. Everything I was worried about, has actually turned out to be the opposite. Being on a project that needs me on site three days a week means that I'm only away from home for two nights, but the flip side is that I get to work from home the other two days with the option to go into my 'home base' office. Initially I worked with DVSA on the MOT Modernisation project, and have since moved to a new digital services project working with a UK Government department. This means that having such a large window of time between when I leave the 'office' and when I then come back again, it gives the illusion of having a very long break every week. Some projects require a bit more involvement and need to be on-site four days a week meaning three nights away, but the majority of the projects are very flexible, but even with four days on site, you still get the flexibility to work from home on the fifth day giving you a long break away from the office every week. On top of this, the regularity of knowing I'll be working from home on specific days allows me to schedule all my deliveries and visiting tradesmen for that specific day, very handy indeed. The social scene On top of that, being such a large company, you're never alone when you travel. The social aspect is fantastic. When you're on site you're there with quite a few other individuals and so your evenings are not an isolating lonely affair. Regularly going out for dinner, or to play football, or some other activity. That's not to say if you would prefer a quite evening to yourself, to call home or just enjoy a movie, that you can't, the other people travelling are more than accepting of that fact. Kainos really go out of their way to make sure the people travelling are looked after. With a dedicated travel team who do their best to give you a nice hotel to stay in, a generous allowance for food and beverage and every seven weeks giving you the option to work from home the entire week to just have a break from the travelling life. Unlocking opportunities On a personal note, the time I then get in the evenings when I do choose to have a night to myself has allowed me to progress my personal development more than ever. Giving me the space free of distractions to do some reading, practice my writing and generally do all the things that always get pushed aside when the distractions of home are present. Since joining, I've been offered the chance to go on the Certified Agile Leadership course which is something I really wanted to do and that was agreed with much enthusiasm from the consulting capability, which was very invigorating. Kainos has helped with my development in a different way. Allowing me to get involved in areas of the business that are outside of my role, but something I am very interested in learning and will need to know for my future progression. At Kainos, promotions are offered twice a year and I'm definitely considering putting myself forward at the next opportunity. Go for it! If you're considering applying to Kainos but are feeling put off by the concept of travelling, honestly, don't. You'll be missing out on a great opportunity. View available opportunities for Scrum Masters and Delivery Managers around the UK!  

About the author

Martyn Puddephatt