Need some deep work? It's time for a team workation

Did you know that it is possible to easily pack three 24” LCD monitors into regular checked luggage?

We tested it, so you don't have to.

Wait, why would someone travel with monitors in their luggage?

Simple: people who are working remotely and want to stay productive during their workation.

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Does my team need a workation?

In short: Yes.

Let's first explain what a workation actually is. You might already know or have an idea.

Many companies which comprise of primarily ‘knowledge workers’ have recently gone remote-first (either temporarily or indefinitely).

Knowledge workers have the luxury of essentially being able to work from anywhere. Their only requirements are fast internet, a good work environment, and ideally being located in the same timezone as other colleagues.

For obvious reasons, a city is not the ideal place to stay during a pandemic. We are all quite fed up with staying home.

We desperately want to escape cities, but also want to stay responsible while traveling.

Google Trends says that we want more hiking...

hiking trend

...and biking...

biking trend

...and surprisingly, more stand up paddling.

paddling trend

We want to spend more time in nature but also be productive.

Get more energy to start new projects, and then deep dive into building them without the interruption of city life.

We need more workations.

workations trend
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Bring your work, we will take care of the rest

Most of our Surf Office teammates have been taking personal workations for years.

Simon spends months in Nicaragua or Bali surfing while nurturing relationships with our customers, Milana enjoys a few months each year soaking up the sun of the Croatian coast, and Peter hiked the majority of the trails in Zion National Park while onboarding new hotel partners every day.

We sat down as a team and brainstormed how our experience organizing hundreds of group retreats (most of which were for remote-first companies) can be used to integrate workations into the remote policy of our customers.

Let your employees work remotely from our selected locations in the countryside of Portugal, Spain, and California and boost their happiness and productivity.

Simple as that.

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What does this experience look like?

As all our venues are located outside of large cities, there is not much else to do besides spending time in nature and... working. This the essence of a workation.

Bring a small team, stay for a week, a month, or longer yet.

Work on new projects, develop prototypes of new products, or make customer research about new features. You already know which projects you have been procrastinating on.

You have been thinking about them for ages but the stars have never aligned. Or, more simply, you haven’t had the time.

Your team will stay at premium apartments or cabins in the countryside. We made sure that the internet is fast and stable. Trust us, this is harder to secure in countryside locations than one might think!

workation

Bring a keyboard and mouse. In case you need them, you already know how to smuggle LCD monitors.

You can work from the apartment or, if you want to meet other people, from a shared coworking space.

When you stay in a location for a longer period of time, it doesn’t matter if it rains for a day or two. No problem, you came for deep work. On the flipside, when the weather is great (as it usually is in Portugal and Spain in autumn/winter), you can soak up nature in all its splendor.

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Escape the rush of a large city and recharge your batteries in the countryside. Don't expect tourists or crowds.

You can have an all-inclusive stay without a need to go to restaurants in the town/village or you can use your newfound freetime to become the masterchef you have always dreamed of becoming.

Some locations where you can have this experience:

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“This sounds like something I've been planning since 2016”

So, what's next?

If you are an employer - schedule a call and discuss how you can implement productive workations into your remote work policy.

We might have examples and best practices of some of our customers that are already allowing workations for their employees.

As an employee/manager, you can fill out this simple form and we will come back to you with available options and prices.

budget retreat spreadsheet

Retreat Budget Spreadsheet

Are you organising a company retreat and want to make sure you have all the costs under the control?

Get a copy of our free Budget Calculator spreadsheet.

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Interviews with more “newly-remote” companies:

CPJ’s journey into remote work

CPJ’s journey into remote work

During these times, many companies are switching to remote work. You may have heard that large companies, like Twitter, Shopify, and Slack are doing so, but we’re also seeing this shift with smaller companies, startups, and digital agencies as well. Perhaps this transition was already in the pipeline, or maybe COVID-19 was the catalyst. Either…

WeTransfer switching to partial remote working

WeTransfer switching to partial remote working

“We are not working from home. We are at home trying to make it work.” For most companies around the world trying to navigate the COVID-19 pandemic, this quote probably feels pretty relatable as everyone adjusts to the sudden shift to working from home. Shared by Gwen Burbidge, the Head of HR at WeTransfer, these…

How digital product studio Pixelmatters transformed from office to remote

How digital product studio Pixelmatters transformed from office to remote

By now, you’ve probably heard the news that large companies like Twitter, Shopify and Slack are “going remote”. And recently, we’re hearing more and more stories about smaller companies, startups, and digital agencies doing the same. What were their motivations? What challenges do they face during this transition? How do they see their future? We…

Skift’s Insights and Experiences About Switching to Remote Work

Skift’s Insights and Experiences About Switching to Remote Work

During these times, many companies are switching to remote work. You may have heard that large companies, like Twitter, Shopify, and Slack are doing so, but we’re also seeing this shift with smaller companies, startups, and digital agencies as well. Perhaps this transition was already in the pipeline, or maybe COVID-19 was the catalyst. Either…

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How to plan your first company retreat

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