“Hey, feel free to help yourself to some homemade cracklings and pears in the fridge,” was one of the first sentences I heard at my new job at NovaLite. On my first day at work in the office, in a rented apartment on the corner of Branko Bajić and Mičurinova streets, my colleague Aca offered me his homemade food in case I was hungry and even if I wasn’t. You do not hear that very often nowadays. It sounded homey, even kinda gourmet – something you do not forget.

Humble people with a good sense of humor

Guys in the office offered each other coffee, talked, joked around, and laughed, and then the break ended. Only gentle tapping on the keyboards or indistinct conversations from the tiny room that served as a conference could be detected at those times. Humble people with a good sense of humor, knowledge, and the desire to share and be part of a team – it has stuck with me ever since.

Twelve years later, there are at least four times as many of us. Some of the “old” ones are still there, but there are a lot of new faces. We also introduced flexible workplaces to have enough space for everyone to sit, and I still have that same experience, even while working ”remotely”, but especially when I come to the office.

The Unison

When talking to NovaLite people, I immediately sense team spirit. We all feel the desire to praise each other for our work and efforts on a project, to gather around someone’s computer and help them solve something when they get stuck. There is the desire to share an apple in the canteen, to hug a colleague and offer encouragement after a difficult meeting. When on our amazing team buildings one cook a meal for colleagues on a sailboat, take a bike ride through Berlin, or when we go for a lunchtime walk in a local park, it’s team spirit. It’s there when we put together IKEA furniture for the office, and get a nice, funny or witty gift as Secret Santa for someone. When we tease someone in the office group chat or race down the hill in the forest of Erdevik. It is always there, that team spirit and you cannot miss it.

The Feeling

When I think of NovaLite culture, I think of that feeling of wanting to be a part of every Happy Hour on Fridays, whenever I have time to stay. That same special feeling of pride when I hear young colleagues talking enthusiastically about NovaLite to students at our yellow booth on KONTEH fair… I have that feeling every time when I realize that I would like to stay a bit longer in the canteen, chatting, but I have a work to do. The feeling that makes us fond of those with whom we do not always agree on everything. That is NovaLite culture – something you feel on your very first day and that motivates you even on some not so yellow working days.

Our shared experiences turn NovaLite into something more than a company or a regular workplace; they turn NovaLite into a team where you really feel at home while working.

Dragana Donevski

A manager who strives to grow and develop continuously. Enjoys learning more about people, their drives and relations. A dendrophile and a global-minded person. Always at peace in the woods. Never gets tired of traveling, music, learning languages, new cultures and crocheting.