Once a Grabber, always a Grabber

I can, with confidence, tell you that there’s nowhere quite like Grab. I know this because I’ve worked here not once, but twice! When I originally started at Grab I really enjoyed working here, but then as happens in everybody’s career, my head got turned by another company. On paper it looked just right, but it didn’t quite work out that way.

It’s hard to put my finger on exactly what was wrong with the new position. I found myself missing the flexibility I’d enjoyed in Grab, not to mention the opportunity to actually make a difference. So when the opportunity arose for me to rejoin Grab, I didn’t hesitate for a second and came straight back.

Yes, the company had moved on a little in the time that I was away, it had grown from being that scrappy start-up that I left and was now something more, something bigger. But what hadn’t changed was the culture of the workplace. The sense that everybody was in it together, that ideas can come from anywhere, and that with the right people on board, anything is possible. That to me is at the very core of what Grab is and will always be, it’s a tech company that’s all about people - its consumers, its partners and its employees.

You can see that in the way that the company embraces flexibility - so for example, if you want to work on project management alongside software engineering then that is absolutely an option. Or the way that people can change roles and then change back again. That kind of flexibility really is something that I haven’t experienced anywhere else, and once you get a taste for it it’s very difficult to go back (I know from personal experience).

I’m originally from Bangalore so life here in Singapore is slightly different to life back home. To be truthful, wherever you live, it’s still always going to be your life that you’re living, but here, things are a little more cosmopolitan. I’m a huge fan of trying out different cuisines from around the world so I’ve really found myself in my element here, there are just so many options! Of course to balance that out I try to stay as fit as possible. Previously I was obsessed with running and cycling, but recently I’ve found myself gravitating towards the gym. Exercise is so important to me, if I don’t exercise it really changes my mood - endorphins, they’re just addictive!

Life here in Singapore just feels as if it’s in harmony. There’s the work part of life and the life part of life and the two of them exist together perfectly. Even the weekends or nights that I’m on call don’t really feel as if they’re encroaching too much on my life. That’s the other reason I was so happy to come back to Grab - balance. That and the fact that wherever I wind up there’s a part of me that’s always going to be a Grabber.