By Anja

It’s been a little over five months since we all shared a workspace at Pomegranite. It’s funny to think how working remotely felt quite strange last year, but this year, it’s being together that seemed out of the ordinary. As we walked into CHIPS coworking earlier this month, we greeted each other with a mix of elbows, hugs, laughs and many a “It’s so great to see your legs!” As the second Pomegranite who was onboarded completely remotely, it was strange to think that this was the first time I was actually meeting the people I saw on video almost everyday (the new normal is a fascinating place!).

Some background

When our office lease came to an end at the beginning of the year, the team felt that, with pandemic safety measures in mind, holding onto a big office wasn’t worth it for the time being. There was some concern that we’d miss our home base as a company, but with strong communication and trust, we’ve thrived within a remote environment.

But boy did we love being back together.

Having worked with CHIPS Coworking space for a few months on their social media, their office option was the obvious decision for our in-person work day. The workspaces are inviting, energetic and airy, with floor-to-ceiling windows and incredible views of Table Mountain. After a tour of the three floors, and many stops to look at all the incredible art on the office walls, we were warmly reminded that should we need anything, we just needed to pop upstairs and say so.

CHIPS does a great job of merging simplicity with contemporary tech. The processes of setting up and powering through work with unlimited wifi speed are seamless. Also, there are lamp bases that charge your phone, and a wall of entrancing green lights that light up when they detect movement (we can’t overstate how much this entertained our team). And the loadshedding issue? No problem – there are solar panels on the CHIPS roof.

A few times a day we could spot the dogs from the doggy day care next door through the windows – a popular attraction, we discovered, as we all tried to fit our heads through the largest side window while observing safe distancing (very hard, very worth it).

As we transition back into the world of face-to-face work, it was wonderful to see the Pomegranite team being reminded why we like working together so much, and to have that reminder in the warm and inviting space at CHIPS. When we work from home we rely on the connections we’ve made with our team along the way, and when we work in person, we build on that.

For now, it’s back to our home offices as we start dreaming about launching ourselves down the water slides at our annual Christmas party (should the pandemic allow it…).

P.S. If anyone is interested in working at CHIPS (which we highly recommend!), check out their website and get in touch with Nicola to take a tour.