Pros
Before I came to TLM I had a very open conversation with the CEO about what I was looking for and what he was trying to build. On that basis, rather than just retire and abandon my career early, I was persuaded to take the risk and apply for a role at TLM. I’ve been here just over 18 months, and during that time I’ve gone through some stressful life events (first I lost my mother and then, recently, my wife’s mother died). The support I have received from TLM has been exemplary. For example, in January of 2022 I received a diagnosis of type-2 diabetes. Since then I have been through a determined attempt to change my lifestyle; to transform my diet and get more active in ways that I will be able to sustain permanently. I have been sharing my experiences in some of the informal comms channels. A few months later, in May, I received the news that not only is the diabetes in remission, my blood sugar levels are way back down lower than the pre-diabetes threshold. I’ve lost 40 lbs and 6” off my waistline in just 3 months. According to my nurse practitioner, I have “smashed it out of the park”. The reason I mention this is because both my wife and I firmly believe that this personal achievement would not have been possible without the incredibly supportive and positive culture that TLM represents and reinforces. Many companies pay lip-service to the concept of work-life balance, but very few actually live and breathe it. This is an excellent company in which to work, and I think it is important to point out where TLM really gets it right.
Cons
The main challenge within TLM is managing your time effectively in the remote working model. You often have to work on projects where both the clients and your team colleagues are distributed across many timezones. It requires a combination of discipline and flexibility to both make yourself usefully available and protect your work-life balance simultaneously. Unfortunately, the Covid complication means that I have yet to meet any of my colleagues face-to-face, which can be sad when you have to say goodbye to someone you really enjoyed working with, as they move on before you ever got a chance to buy them a beer.
