Patricie Zitova: When Someone Is Dealing with a Problem, I Try to Be Kind to Them

Our new office manager Patricie brings a positive atmosphere to our company environment from her day one. She is truly empathic by nature. And not only that. She has a very interesting hobby that you would rather expect from our programmers.

What is your position in eWay System?

I work as an office manager. I take care of invoices, payments, wages, time sheets, and other HR issues.

And how do you like it here so far?

I am happy that I am learning new things. I do not want just to make coffee and order water. I need to educate myself.

Did you want to be an office manager from the very beginning?

My first experience in administration was that I started to work as a coordinator of a language school. And I liked it. I really looked up to the possibility to work as an office manager, but I was still a little restrained. Over time, I simply told myself that I can do it and it became my goal.

Were you able to work also as a substitute teacher at the language school?

Not really. But sometimes I took part in children's classes when we did role-playing in detective stories.

Now you work with developers. Is that a big difference for you?

The teachers were very specific too, I wouldn't look for any big differences in this respect. The main difference for me was an environment that was much more pleasant at the language school compared to the civil engineering company where I worked for a couple of months after the language school. The relationships there were strictly professional and business oriented. I never had lunch with anyone there. Before I was used to a sort of family approach from the language school.

And what is your first impression of our office?

Great! I like it here, I already go to have lunch with my colleagues.

Patricie Zitova - our new office manager

Do you have your own philosophy or proven tips on how to work with people?

I learned to be empathetic. When someone is dealing with a problem, I try to be kind to them. I try to understand their situation and at the same time I try to explain what are the possible solutions.

You like people but also animals, don't you?

I love animals.

Do you have any animals?

I have a Maine Coon cat which is one of the biggest cats. They weigh up to 18 lb. Her name is Harley. She's 2 years old and it's my baby.

How do you like to spend your free time?

I love watching series and I love PlayStation. I grew up on it.

And what games do you play?

Classics like Tomb Raider. And the top game for me is The Last of Us, which I finished six times. Right now I am waiting for the sequel, which keeps postponing for around three years already. When Sony announced which games will be released in the first half of 2020, the Last of Us: Part II was among them and they said it would be out in February. And two weeks later they postponed it to May. I was about to tear my hair out.

Speaking of games, a team building event took place at the end of November. As a new office manager, do you have any tips on what you could organize next time?

If everyone enjoyed the last event, why not organize something like that. My friends and I used to go to PubQuiz and it was quite funny, although I didn't know anything at all. I was just there as a decorative element. (laughs)

We are at the end of the interview and the end of this year at the same time. So I would like to ask you, what would you wish for you and our company to the next year?

Of course, I would like to wish the company a lot of success. And I wish myself a much quieter year than this year was.