Eliza Xiahong Pan, is the Lead Java Developer at OpenVPN. For a long time she had worked from an office location, but she switched to working from home to avoid virus exposure. As a developer, everything Eliza does can be done completely remotely — there is never any real need for her to go into the office. As long as the novel coronavirus is still around, Eliza sees no reason to risk her health by going into the office.
How is working from home different for Eliza?
Since working from home, Eliza explained that she has found two key benefits. The first is that she no longer has to commute, which previously ended up being an hour or more each day. The second benefit is that she can manage her time more efficiently. “I can be available at any time from home for work needs, so important projects do not have to wait. On the other hand, when I am waiting for items from others, I can do some of my housework. I can arrange my workload and housework efficiently.”
“I don’t feel like I am missing out by not being at the office. I can communicate with others via Slack, email, etc. just like I could in the office. So not much has changed.” She continued to explain that OpenVPN has always had a lot of remote workers, most of whom already worked from home full-time before COVID-19. “We were already familiar with working with these remote team members, and everything is the same even though more of us now work from home.”
How Access Server Makes It Possible
Using OpenVPN Access Server is crucial for Eliza to be able to do her job away from the office. The very first day she went to work from home, she installed both the corporate and internal VPN. “When I log in to the computer, I start both the corp and internal VPN. It works just like it did in the office so I can still accomplish all the same tasks.” Eliza also has a private office with her own desk, so she can close the door and not be distracted during the day. All in all, it has been a seamless transition for Eliza, and she is grateful that she can still accomplish her work while staying home and staying safe.
