Working as a remote full stack developer for a more than a year made me realize being an employee is quite easy and it's easy to get props when you just show off your work.
Most people are too worried everyday, they often try to overcommit everyday just to make the impression while I just believe in just being opposite. I just tend to do my chores everyday, showup in meetings and reply and engage when needed.
Here are a few things I tend to do:
- Engage in meetings and chats when needed
- If there's something wrong in the area that I own I don't let anyone else notice and just fix it
- Given there's a
code redin the company, I am one of the first one to jump in and resolve it - Showup regularly in meetings, let founder know if I will have any problems/blockers before hand
- Be kind gently and treat work not like work but like rather I am playing and set some meaningful milestones
Also, since I am not perfect and I need to improve upon a few areas, here is a list of things I want to improve in future:
- Communication
- Understand the direction company is heading
- Take more ownership of the project
- Improve code quality wherever I see
- Balance life, work & learning which I really struggle with
In short, being a good employee doesn't mean you need to always be involved in work. It just means you need to take the ownership in the places you have worked upon and always eger to help others when needed.