how is day-to-day at metathesis – with ricardo avelar
Ricardo Avelar was born in Porto, is 29 years old, and is a Civil Engineer from the University of Beira Interior. He has lived in the Lisbon area for 3 years, and previously worked in a large company in the telecommunications sector. He joined Metathesis in January. Enjoys travelling, reading, and photography.
Today he accepted the challenge of answering some questions about Metathesis’ relationship with its collaborators.
Both in terms of the work we do and in the quality of the work environment and company-employee relationship. Our work is good. We are strict in what we do, people can count on us.
One thing that motivates you in your daily life, when you come to work?
What motivates me the most is not knowing what I’m doing, because there’s so much happening at the same time that the plans for my day often get changed, new things come up that I wasn’t expecting, and that’s something I taste. I like the diversity of functions, and being able to do something new every day, even if I don’t necessarily enjoy every task.
Do you feel like you learn daily at Metathesis?
Yup. It is something that did not happen in the previous company despite being a large multinational company. Everything was more monotonous. They were different jobs, it’s true. I’m currently involved in an area that was new to me and I have to understand what the role requires of me, and I have to learn to be able to respond to the role’s requests. In short, what motivates me is the diversity of functions, constant learning, and there is no monotony at work.
How do you rate your experience in Metathesis?
It has been very positive especially with regard to constant learning. It has been much better than expectations. I expected to be doing projects daily, but what I do is manage those projects. I learned something that I didn’t expect, and that they don’t teach us, how to deal with all legal and bureaucratic issues, project management, contact with suppliers and partners, problem solving, breakdowns, assistance. Exceeded my expectations.
3 things you learned in Metathesis?
Interestingly, the phone was one of the things I was forced to deal with. I always knew how to talk on the phone, but it wasn’t a constant thing. In project management I use it a lot more, I solve a lot of problems over the phone. Time management is another thing I’ve been learning. It’s something I didn’t need, but now it’s unthinkable not to manage my time well, to make things happen. I also learned that we have to be demanding with suppliers, partners, because if we don’t insist, nothing happens. These are things that seem intuitive until we have to deal with them daily and realize that, after all, we didn’t even have that ability. When we start having different experiences with different people, we learn that we have to demand from ourselves and from others. Deep down I learned a lot about soft skills. Here I am in the “real world” dealing with many entities with different ways of working, and that we have to adapt to achieve our goals. Metathesis is a company with a degree of demand vis-à-vis its partners that reflects the quality that Metathesis wants to give its customers. And I had to adapt to demanding that quality.
How do you think the relationship between the company and its employees is like?
We are a small company with an exceptional relationship. I have excellent relationships with all my colleagues and even with the leadership. We are like a family. I have had problems at home, for example, where I had to go away and not only could I leave early, but I also had advice and help about the problem. Metathesis also highly respects the balance between personal and professional life. It was one of the main differences I noticed between my previous employer and Metathesis. Having the weekends, being able to leave early. I have a lot more time for myself and my family. It brought me happiness. Before, there were months when I was with my wife almost only saying “good night” and “good morning” because the schedules were incompatible. Another example of this: the company did not hesitate to give us the 24th and the 31st of December, when in the past we had to choose between one or the other. Being from Porto, sometimes I go there for the weekend, and the leadership is available so that I can leave earlier and be able to make the trip in a more relaxed way. This company’s availability and care to make our family life easier is great for us.
How do you think Metathesis dealt with the pandemic in relation to its employees?
I think it handled it very well. We take action in a timely manner, and even before it is mandatory. We were at a stage where the work and projects we were involved in could be done via telework. We quickly transferred work home, we often met online, we had access to information because the company is conveniently digitized. On the other hand, at a time when a lot of people became unemployed, or with salary cuts, layoff, we never had any problems, our salaries were maintained, all our perks, we were always paid on time.
Would you recommend Metathesis to other professionals?
Yes, clearly. Both in terms of the work we do and in the quality of the work environment and company-employee relationship. Our work is good. We are strict in what we do, people can count on us. We have clients who have no problem asking us for help because we always help. On the other hand, as I said, my quality of life has improved a lot since I came here.