“BEDRIDDEN IN GROSS-GERAU, BUT ACTIVE AROUND THE WORLD„

Company founder K. Nadeem Arif suffers from chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS). Most of the time he has to work from bed, yet he continues to steer the fortunes of his company.

Nadeem Arif, founder and head of an IT company in Darmstadt, does not let a serious illness rob him of his vision.

COMPANY FOUNDER K. NADEEM ARIF SUFFERS FROM CHRONIC FATIGUE SYNDROME (CFS). MOST OF THE TIME HE HAS TO WORK FROM HIS BED, YET HE CONTINUES TO STEER THE FORTUNES OF HIS COMPANY.

NADEEM ARIF, FOUNDER AND HEAD OF AN IT COMPANY IN DARMSTADT, DOES NOT LET A SERIOUS ILLNESS ROB HIM OF HIS VISION.

SOUTHERN HESSE – “You probably can’t imagine,” writes K. Nadeem Arif, “how long a day and even longer a night can be when you can’t do anything and have to lie in bed almost all the time.” How does one cope with knowing that a state of total exhaustion will not pass, but will shape the rest of one’s life? One can give up hope. Or one can run an aspiring company from bed and plan a vigorous expansion across borders and continents. That is what Nadeem Arif does. For 13 years, the man from Groß-Gerau has been suffering from chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS), an incurable disease affecting several body systems. The cause of CFS remains unknown and there is no therapy.

“Outsourcing4work” WITH INTERNATIONAL SUCCESS

Arif was 38 years old when he fell sick with CFS. A proper diagnosis followed only nine years later,after he had been unsuccessfully treated for a long time for supposed depression. At the time of falling sick, the Pakistani-born entrepreneur had already been a businessman for a long time, as well as a “grateful holder of the German citizenship”, as he himself writes.Arif’s company Outsourcing4work founded in 1993, is registered inthe Tann settlement of Darmstadt. It places professionals from India, for example to do programming work. According to Arif,the company operates “fully remotely” since about ten years, that is without its employees being present at a fixed place of work.“Our team consists of more than 100 employees living in 17 countries, says company founder and CEO Nadeem Arif.Upon request,company spokesperson Martina , for instance,responds from South Africa. A native of Mannheim, who also lived for a while in Bürstadt and Lampertheim,Stöcker has been living near Cape Town for the past 20 years. “My co-worker Gabi is basedin Tunis”, she reports cheerfully. “We have great teamwork.”According to Stöcker,“Outsourcing4work” has doubled its workforce since January. “We are currently expanding in the Netherlands, Belgium and Sweden.Corona has made work much more flexible.” The company does not give turnover figures but says it has been making profits for years.By its own account, 5,000 people work for the company worldwide,making no distinction between permanent employees and freelancers.

WORKING PRODUCTIVELY DESPITE HANDICAP

The whole team stands behind the disabled boss in Groß-Gerau, emphasizes Stöcker. “The illness consumes all of his energy”, she states. “He usually keeps a cloth over his head to cover his eyes and preserve energy. But he is highly motivated. We always communicate very briefly. Sometimes it takes him two days to recover from it.” Arif answers questions from this newspaper in writing. “Today, I’m often unable to leave the house for months at a time and I spend most of my time in bed”, he says, describing his situation. “As soon as my health permits, I start working until I have to recover again in a completely quiet and dark room.” Nevertheless, the 51-year-old man considers himself “fortunate to have a meaningful and productive occupation despite these hindrances. My company has always been my work and also my hobby.” He says, he is grateful to live “in the best country in the world”. Arif also wants to create opportunities for people in the Pakistani town of Rabwah (Chenab Nagar): There, with the help of his own foundation, he wants to establish an IT service center and thus create 1,000 remote jobs.

THE COMPANY INTRODUCES ITSELF

Arif explains to every new employee in an in-house memo how he runs the company despite severe health restrictions, how the cooperation with employees works and what other work opportunities exist at Outsourcing4work. Khalid Nadeem Arif and his team at Outsourcing4work also inform outsiders about the various possibilities of remote working. Therefore, the company hosts different events [https://www.outsourcing4work.de/events/] and will be conducting a webinar on 10/12/2020 at 14:00 entitled “Remote work – how people with disabilities can benefit”. More information about the exciting work of Outsourcing4work and its committed director can be found on the company’s website [https://www.outsourcing4work.de/]. At https://1000jobs4rabwah.com/, detailed information on the background of the “1000Jobs4Rabwah” project in Pakistan can be found.

11. November 2021 Darmstädter Echo