⏳ Self-time management

For every year that you may be engaged with one of our projects, we recommend being away from your keyboard (“AFK”) for at least 20 days a year (plus your local or cultural bank holidays) to disconnect and enjoy time doing things important to you. We encourage you to disconnect as much as you need on top of this.

We don't mandate the days, schedule, or hours that you take to deliver the services –you're free to set your schedule and work from any place (home/coffee shop/coworking space) and time zone as long as they’re delivered within the agreed timeframe.

This system might be new to you, and if you'd like some guidance on self-time management or have any concerns about being productive –feel free to chat with your People Partner who will be happy to give you some tips.

📣 Communicating your availability

There is no need to communicate AFK unless it's a half day or longer. Non-linear workdays are fine, as well as traditional schedules. Keep your hours in check for your own good, make sure you get proper time away from screens, and turn notifications off on your phone when you're offline. You are free to choose your working patterns as long as you meet your deliverables on time at the agreed quality standards.

Monthly and project rate contractors can invoice IFT for their agreed amounts in months when they take time off. The contractor / entity agreement is based on the services provided and does not mandate the time or location where the services will take place.

📆 Create AFK entries

We record contributors' unavailable dates with BambooHR to keep an overview of who's around in the programs and projects to help schedule launches, work allocation, handovers, etc.

BambooHR doesn't allow users to add an entry directly and insists that all dates entered are 'approved' by People Ops. Please note that this is a workflow that we’re unable to amend in the system, and all requests are “approved” by default even though there is no need for us to do this.

You don't need to 'ask' for permission. Just make sure to:

• Communicate to the project lead and people you collaborate in-progress projects with.
• Mark your unavailability on your project’s shared calendar (if there is one).
• Coordinate appropriately and re-assign or delegate any piece of work that needs to progress in your absence. You can also use this handover template for temporary/short absences.

Deleting entries in BambooHR

If you change plans and want to cancel or amend an entry, you can follow these instructions. Only your People Partner can delete past entries, so please ping them for help, and we'll get it sorted right away!