Last updated · 14 February 2024

Side-gigs

We are a team of 30-ish people. Sometimes more, sometimes less. All of you are passionate individuals who happen to be very, very talented as well. Some of you are jack-of-all trades that can do a lot of things really well.

Often, this means there are other things on the side that you love doing. Let’s say you are a really good engineer and you find fun in contributing to open-source projects. That’s awesome and we actually accept it.

Other side gigs may earn you extra money. We understand money brings comfort to our lives, and we're cool with you earning more! Ultimately, one key aspect of our Mission and values is to be able to pay everyone more.

We get it, really: “Every hero needs a side-kick. Every captain needs a mate. Every dinner needs a side dish on a slightly smaller plate.”.

Oh, and by the way, if you know where that reference comes from, kudos to you.

One day, you may want your side dish to become your main dish, you know, like vegetarians who eat salads as main courses. Which is totally fine! But, during the transition period, you slowly reduce your dedication to beef, while salads become your main priority, whereas beef becomes just your protein-getter. This is where the beef starts to get fired up because beef got caught by surprise, and it is no longer being loved as it used to.

Significa is a beef which is too small not to be your main motivation. We, and our clients, cannot afford to have team members who are only half dedicated to our Mission and values and work. This will hinder our performance and will lead to very uncomfortable conversations with clients (and headaches).

If you want a change, we can help each other towards a smooth transition.

We’ve handed side-gigs.

When reasonable, we are the first to refer you to side gigs we may find. In cases where the budget doesn't fit Significa’s billing scheme, or it doesn’t align with the type of projects we want to take on, we happily refer you so you can make some extra cash. No strings attached.

However, be mindful of the impact it may have on your Significa productivity. Or, in other words, on the cow’s feelings. Cows have feelings, too.

Be mindful of the impact.

The crucial factor in determining whether something qualifies as a side gig is its impact on your Significa work and productivity.

Engaging in a side gig is fine, as long as it doesn’t constitute a significant workload on the side, to the point where it impacts your productivity at Significa. Again, as written in Working hours and location, we don’t really care about how many hours you work, as long as you deliver what you’re intended to, but if your performance drops, then it becomes an issue that needs more serious addressing.

Remember the open-source collaboration mentioned above? If this is your thing, you can make it on behalf of Significa, and we’ll grant you with dedicated working hours to do so. We view this as a great way to get Significa's name out there. The same applies to anything that has the potential to spread the Significa brand across the world.

Above all, as long as you're delivering in your responsibilities at Significa and preserving your well-being, engaging in side gigs is entirely acceptable. Beware, however, there's a limited set of time and energy one can dedicate to both a main and a side gig, without compromising one’s mental health.

Still, side gigs are fine and we support you in allocating a reasonable amount of time each week to them. All we ask in return is: never to compromise your work for Significa.

We can guide you.

Your side gig might be a potential future full-time occupation, which is totally fine. We appreciate the ambition. However, we encourage you to let us know so we can collaboratively develop a plan, instead of hiding the matter from us. You know, it’s like when you plan salads to become your main-dish and you decide to visit a nutritionist, because there’s probably a few things about vegetarianism you should know.

As you know, our Personal development is based on your personal goals and ambitions, so if you share a particular aspiration with us, we'll happily align your goals at Significa with your long-term drive, ensuring it doesn't hinder your performance or your development. Perhaps equally important, this will also allow us to work on a plan to replace you when the time is right for you to go full-on salad mode.

We know the key to motivating individuals is to match their long-term goals with Significa's needs, whether or not those goals are ultimately achieved with us.

Getting sign-off.

Before engaging in any side gigs, as stated in your working contract, you must ask for a sign-off. Please check in with Rui or Pedro before engaging in any salads.