'We like to have fun, and we sometimes chat nonsense over lunch, but the code has to be right.'
Tom Moeseke, Front-end Developer at XQTING


Anyone who has ever worked with XQTING knows that this is a team of doers. Sociable, forward-looking and always down to earth. Having joined the company four and a half years ago, Tom Moeseke is now an old hand at the company. 'Employee 01' he says with a wink, quickly adding that he isn't a particularly chatty person. But when it comes to his job as a Front-End Developer at XQTING, he could go on about it all day.

Working from home four days a week
Soon after Wim and Jan founded XQTING, they recruited Tom as their first employee. 'We had already worked together at another company, so we knew what to expect from each other. In terms of mentality, everyone in our team is on the same wavelength: you have to do your job well, but other than that you have a lot of freedom. I choose how I organise my tasks and where I work. I work from home four days out of five, and on Monday we all come in to the office in Ghent. It's good to see each other once a week for a catch-up, and we often end up chatting nonsense over lunch.'

'Going to meetings isn't real work'
On the days that Tom works from home, he is constantly in contact with his colleagues via Teams. 'We usually have two or more people working together on a project, so this allows us to keep on top of exactly what everyone is up to. It also helps us understand the obstacles other people are facing, which means we can help and learn from each other. I like this informal way of working. I'm not such a fan of meetings: for me, going to long meetings isn't real work, because it stops me from getting on with my job (laughs).'
In the same vein, Tom also prefers to learn by doing. 'XQTING has a subscription to Pluralsight, where my colleagues and I can do online training courses. This is useful because it helps us stay up to date with the latest developments, but I still prefer learning by doing.' After all, keeping on top of the latest solutions in order to help customers as best possible is part of the job.

Down to the last pixel
Most of Tom's colleagues prefer back-end development. 'But as a front-end developer, I can apply my UX knowledge,' he explains. 'The work is also more creative: every end user sees an application or website differently, and you have to take this into account. In addition, it's not just the code that has to be right like in the case of back-end development – every last pixel has to be in exactly the right place. This doesn't bother me at all, in fact I really enjoy it.'

Plenty of freedom, but the work has to get done
We asked him if he ever gets bored of the work he does. That doesn't seem to be the case: 'In the four and a half years that I've been working here I have never once been bored. Every project is totally different. I'm usually working on two or three projects at once, which provides plenty of variety. I decide myself how I organise my time. Sometimes I work until 2am, but I do it because I choose to. My employer also doesn't mind if I do a bit of home renovation during the day, since renovation work is much noisier than coding. So they really put their trust in me, but I still have to get the job done.'

No hammocks, no egos
If Tom had to describe working at XQTING in three words, he would say: 'Variety, freedom and a friendly atmosphere. Everyone works together, you don't have any big egos or people who would happily stab you in the back. You can simply be yourself, whether you're talkative or not, it doesn't matter. The atmosphere is relaxed, although you won't see hammocks at our office any time soon. We like having fun and want to do a good job for our customers. Anyone who understands that mentality will feel right at home here.'