A Developer’s Perspective: Working at a Corporate Environment vs. a Digital Community

Hi! In this article I’d like to compare the pros and cons of two work environments:

• Remote work at digital community
• Corporate Environment

Those are two different approaches. Each one has advantages and disadvantages. Let’s take a closer look now.

Startup / digital community environment

The first thing that’s worth mentioning is the flexibility. Digital communities tend to be more dynamic regarding daily work, communication, and general approach. Flexible working hours, flexible workplace, and accurate adjustment to the situation. A startup environment is typically a fast-paced culture in which creativity and communication are valued. Communities tend to be smaller than large corporations, especially in the early stages of growth, enabling employees to build strong relationships and freely exchange thoughts and ideas. They’re also capable of acting quickly to adjust business practices and hit shifting goals.

Shorter path, closer bonds

It is way easier to know every team member in the company when you work in a digital community than it would be while working in a vast company. That might build better relations and a stronger bond between workers, influencing the effectiveness. In digital communities, your ideas might influence the whole company quickly. The path from initial concept to proper execution is pretty short, encouraging startup workers to share their ideas way more eager. 

Many hats

Following the previous point, you might be responsible for more tasks than your position requires in the digital community. It is due mainly to the fact that there are usually not so many workers, and the structure is not that complex like in big companies, so specific teams would focus on just one branch of company development. It is great for workers who would like to learn new skills and be deeply involved in the life of a company.

More personalized benefits

There’s certainly the other side of working in a startup. A smaller company means a less extended budget, however in startups there is still a bigger chance for having benefits personalized and tailored for specific needs.

Digital community is often perceived as being less formal than that of a corporate environment, and usually puts less emphasis on hierarchy within teams.

Voice to the community

From an ethical point of view, there is a wider chance in a digital community that your voice or objection will be heard. There is also a bigger possibility for a social action, CSR activities, though with a smaller budget.

Corporation environment

Unlike startups, corporations do not seem to be dynamic at all. There are usually several procedures that might extend the path from talking about an idea to taking action. Unlike the startups, mature companies can take weeks to months to launch a project since there are more eyes on the work. The good thing about it, though, is the organizational structure. Every process is followed from the beginning until the end with a set of procedures that control its flow.  

Safer but more routine

The budget is in same of cases more significant, allowing you to participate in complex projects and attend courses and conferences that the company will cover. The corporation is less dynamic but safer and more routine. 

Less development

Many people say that the chance of professional development is significantly lower in the corporate environment due to codification of the projects. If you prefer to try something new every day, the corporate world may not be for you, as the scope of work is focused on your job functions. It’s less likely that you will be able to branch out of your comfort zone at a mature business.

Uniform tech

It is common for mature companies to provide employees with less contemporary technology. Typically, tech startups or digital communities focus on efficiency, so they use more up-to-date project management tools than their corporate counterparts, who tend to focus on uniformity.

Conclusion

There are pros and cons for both environments. Whichever you would pick depends strictly on your personal preferences. Hopefully, some of those points will help you to make up your mind about that 😉