eology on workation!

Three colleagues, including myself, experienced first-hand that Corona does not only bring disadvantages in 2021. Since May 2020, we have been either completely or partially in the home office – depending on the current pandemic regulations and incidence. But that can also be a distinct advantage: The “mobile working” introduced at eology makes it possible for us, in principle, to work from anywhere around the world. We take direct advantage of this and live the motto “work where others go on vacation”. Here you can read our experience reports, and we draw a conclusion: Is working abroad worth it? Come with us to workation!

Katharina: Home office in Spain

In August 2021, I spent the last days of my summer vacation with my relatives in Spain. eology made it possible for me to extend my stay and work from my home office for another week. For me, this meant being able to spend more quality time with my family after my vacation and to continue to extend the vacation atmosphere despite a full work week.

Since my aunt made her home office available to me as a short-term workplace, I was able to work very effectively as well as with concentration and had neither technical difficulties in the form of a problematic Internet connection nor unwelcome distractions. Communication with colleagues and customers also ran smoothly. The flexible working model allowed me to have lunch with my grandparents during my lunch break. After work, I was able to go for a swim in the sea, soak up the Spanish sun and enjoy lively dinners with my family. It was a valuable experience that had a very positive impact on my mood, work-life balance and on my work. Despite the unchanged amount of work hours and workload, I was able to enjoy the week very much and my expectations of working abroad were exceeded.

In conclusion, I would like to say that I would gladly take up the opportunity to work from abroad again at any time. I am very grateful to eology for giving us this great working model.

Katharina
Reiter, Outreach Manager +49 9381 5829000

Lara: Hoteloffice at Lake Garda, Italy

A small idea quickly grew into a firm plan: I would like to accompany my partner for a week on his business trip to Italy. After internal clarification and a check to see if our hotel met the necessary requirements for working, the idea therefore became reality. One week later I was already sitting in the car heading for Lake Garda. As we set off in lousy weather, the hope grew that we would soon be able to enjoy the best Italian autumn weather. Upon arrival at the hotel, it quickly became clear: Here it can be endured.

Since my friend was also working in Italy, I had peace during the day to devote myself to my tasks. The hotel TV was quickly converted into a second screen for my laptop, and nothing stood in the way of a successful workday. Due to Corona, communication at eology had been switched to Microsoft Teams quite a while ago, so there were no difficulties here either. The team was therefore contacted via video call – in other words, everything was not very different from in the German home office. With one huge exception: lunch breaks were not gray, but characterized by sunshine and good Italian food. After work, I also managed to switch off more quickly and get some distance from the daily work routine. Leisurely walks through Brescia and other small towns brought variety and distraction. Work-life balance at its best.

Despite a week of “normal” work, it was a time with a lot of rest and relaxation. As a result, you could still take the “post-holiday feeling” home with you. The best thing: The faces of my colleagues, who also had something from my workation: Italian treats as souvenirs.

Lara
Meyer, Marketing Manager +49 9381 5829051

Jens: Homeoffice in Neapel, Italy

I was allowed to do two weeks of home office, or as the Italians say “smartworking”, in the southern Italian city of Naples before my Christmas vacation. This allowed me to spend more time with my Italian relatives over the holidays.

Before starting my journey, I briefly had doubts about whether the work from abroad would go well. To dispel these, I worked with high motivation from the very first day, and it quickly became apparent that the initial concerns were completely unfounded. On the contrary: I had particularly good working conditions in Italy and was able to achieve outstanding results. Whether this was solely due to the extra portion of motivation? Surely the delicious Italian coffee also played its part.

In contrast to working, the lunch break in Naples was quite different from the one in Germany. Instead of liver cheese rolls and sandwiches, we had the finest pasta, fresh seafood and the world-famous Pizza Napoletana.

In addition to these and other culinary highlights, working in one of the most beautiful cities in Italy has other advantages: Right after breakfast, I could already catch an impressive view of Mount Vesuvius – one of the most famous volcanoes in the world – from my balcony. On my days off, I had the opportunity to visit archaeological sites such as Pompeii, Herculaneum or Paestum. Naples also has a lot to offer as a city in itself.

After the communication also in the home office in Germany or even in Volkach runs mostly via Microsoft Teams, there were virtually no start-up difficulties for me from Naples. Since the work in the “Italian home office” has worked very well, I would be very happy about another opportunity to work on the Gulf of Naples!

I am aware that not every employer promotes the work-life balance of its employees through so much flexibility, and am therefore very grateful to eology for the trust as well as the experience I was able to gain in this way abroad.

Jens
Hüfner, Outreach Manager +49 9381 5829000