Work-life balance, “the great resignation”, and stress awareness are all trending terms in the post-pandemic world. But how exactly do they relate? In this article, we explore how the arculus people team encourages employees to set healthy work boundaries in order to avoid stress and increase talent retention.

The tech stress epidemic

While work-related stress turns into a more discussed topic, more and more employers have become active when it comes to establishing ways of fostering mental health. Still, a significant cause of the worldwide “stress epidemic” comes from work. A study conducted by Yerbo with 36,200 IT professionals across 33 counties found that two in five workers are at a high risk of burnout. 

The result is evidenced in another report, published by HR software provider Personio: the top reason why employees choose to leave a small or medium company in Europe is a stressful work environment. "The pressure of working against the clock to feed the global tech frenzy often forces employees to work late hours, leaving little time for personal life and creating work-life conflicts," say the Yerbo researchers.

What’s the role of work-life balance?

As a result, employees are also re-evaluating their careers, which is, in turn, causing them to rethink their current professional position. The same study by Personio revealed that 71% of the 5000 interviewees from seven European countries consider work-life balance as the most important factor when choosing an employer. As a comparison, salary ranked in third place, with a score of 68%. 

How do we tackle the issue at arculus?

At arculus, we recognize that as an employer, it is our responsibility to help employees balance their work and home life. The result is employees that are more able to focus on their work and motivated to develop their careers, not to mention an increased loyalty and commitment to the company. And you don’t have to take our word for it: the acas guide on Flexible working and work-life balance emphasizes it, too.

In daily business, this translates to a few practical measures, which are reinforced as part of the arculus culture. First and foremost is the full flexibility in regards to work hours. Yannick, our Employee Experience Partner, explains that “we have such a purpose-driven mentality at arculus, that it’s easy for us to give people the space to take care of themselves while also being sure that they will reach their work goals”.

Another important aspect, however, is to assure that employees also find well-being inside the workplace, and not just in their personal lives. For that, we encourage our staff to organise themselves into sports clubs, while also providing them with the budget they need for these activities. “We currently have hiking, bouldering, cycling, and triathlon groups, not to mention the monthly exercise session organised by one of our team members”, he highlights.

“Once a month I offer to join me at the After-Work-Workout. Especially after a full day spent at the desk, it’s so incredibly good to move. And, of course, it’s even more fun together, both in person, at the office, or via video call with all the other arculus locations.”

Lisa, content creator and unofficial workout specialist at arculus

The practical results

“We definitely see these measures (positively) affecting the overall performance”, says the employee experience specialist. Assuring employees’ needs are fulfilled leads to higher motivation and, consequently, better results. “This is what makes the arculus culture”, he concludes.

The people team currently expects that the purpose-driven mindset combined with our flexible working policy will also allow for fully remote team members to join.

“We are currently working more on recruiting internationally, which, for now, still means relocation, for which we offer full support. But, in the future, we hope that it won’t matter where colleagues are located. If we want you to join the team, we will do everything in our power to make it work."

Yannick, Employee Experience partner.

Curious to learn more about the arculus culture? Check out our career page.

A bunny lover, a dessert enthusiast, and an erratic walker: that’s how our brand new Test Engineer, Luciana, defines herself. The 24-year-old Brazilian just moved to Munich after a job offer at arculus, but her relocation journey to Germany was full of unexpected challenges. In this interview, Luciana shares with us a bit about her recent relocation experience, her tasks at arculus, and her expectations for the future.

First of all, what is your mission at arculus? Can you tell us a little bit about your tasks?

Luciana: “I am a test engineer. That means my job is to create a test strategy to ensure the quality of the products we deliver. My tasks include creating procedures, analyzing test scopes, and implementing quality metrics. For that, I must understand how we can improve our development flow in terms of testing, especially through automation so that we can reduce the time needed. 

Can you explain what these tests are exactly?

Luciana: “The robot has several types of testing: mechanical, software, electronics, integration, user interface, and so on. Part of my job is to first organize and coordinate all of these tests. After that, for the software tryouts, I need to check which tests need to be performed manually and which can be automated, and how. I can even go beyond that and test anything related to electronics and the software, as well as define test procedures. So I would say that I’m basically a test coordinator, and I work together with whoever implements a new feature.”

And what’s your favourite thing about this job so far?

Luciana: “Well, from a more professional standpoint, I like the fact that my position requires a general view of every aspect of our arculee. So that means that I don’t specifically work for mechanics or electronics. I need to interact with all of the teams within robotics because there are tests happening in all of them. So having a deep understanding of the product and how I can contribute to improving it is definitely my favourite thing.

Now, from a more personal perspective, I truly like my coworkers. They have all been so friendly and helped me a lot to adapt to a new work environment in a new country.”

Speaking of a new work environment, why did you choose to come to Germany?

Luciana: “I actually never thought that I would end up in Germany. I wanted to work in Europe, but I wasn’t sure which country would be best. Also, when I applied for the position, I thought I was going to be working from Ingolstadt. Only at the end was I told that things had changed and I would be needed in the headquarters, in Munich. But I love that because it’s such a beautiful international city. And since I don’t speak German yet, it’s much easier for me to communicate in English here. So yeah, I’m really fascinated by the city so far.”

And what would you say is your favourite thing about Munich thus far?

Luciana: “My favourite thing is everything (laughs). But if I had to choose one, I would say multiculturalism. For example, you can find so many different types of restaurants from different nationalities. And I love this cosmopolitan vibe.”

And how was your journey to Munich? Can you share a bit about the relocation experience?

Luciana: “Everything happened really fast. First of all, I needed to fulfil a notice period in my previous job, in Brazil, for 30 days. And in the meantime, I was also working on the visa bureaucracy. I had to travel to another city in Brazil, called Recife, to visit the German consulate and get my visa. But that was surprisingly fast, I had my travel permission approved within two hours after my interview.

Unfortunately, not everything was this easy. One of the biggest problems I had was related to bringing my bunny with me. I had to take legal action in the Brazilian court because the flight companies usually only allow dogs and cats on the plane. I was also really worried about the journey, especially because I had a connecting flight in Lisbon, and so I was afraid that I would have some issues there. But, thankfully, everything worked out in the end.”

Can you tell us some more about your bunny?

Luciana: “My bunny’s name is Boo, and he is almost two years old. He hasn’t really seen Germany that much yet since he was just inside my apartment so far. One thing he does like in the new country is the food! There’s a much bigger variety of products for bunnies here than in Brazil, so he’s been having fun with that (laughs).

Truly, though, Boo is much more than just a pet for me. He is my family in Germany and I would not have been able to take such a huge step without him. I’m thankful every day to have him waiting for me when I get home after work.”

Now, back to arculus: how did the company help you with relocation?

Luciana: “I had support from arculus during the whole process, especially from my colleague Iuri, who is also Brazilian. He contacted me on LinkedIn as soon as he found out I was moving here. But he was not the only one; I really had support from my whole team because they knew relocation is a hard process. HR was also always available to answer my questions. And, of course, there was also support with the more bureaucratic things, like my visa and financial aid.”

What is one piece of advice you would give to someone considering relocating with arculus?

Luciana: “The person should analyze every aspect of the decision. In my case, it was always my dream to work and live abroad. It was something that I had always wanted, no matter what. But that doesn’t mean it was an easy decision. I had to leave my family in Brazil to be here. But although it wasn’t easy, I knew it was what I had to do to fulfil my dream. So my advice for anyone considering relocating is to keep in mind that living abroad is not always as perfect as some people might believe, especially Brazilians. But it’s worth it. There are always pros and cons, and the best tip is to balance them out.”

So, after all the challenges, would you say the relocation was worth it?

Luciana: “For sure. I really love what I do at my job, and also really love the city. So I feel like I truly belong in Germany now.”

You can be the next to relocate with arculus! Have a look at our open positions and come join us in Germany.