How to take your remote office to the next level

Part time vacation – part time work

Before summer Karl was asked if he could assist his colleagues in India with some deliveries this summer. Consequently, he thought it would be a good idea to test if it is possible to combine work and vacation.

"Since we had already worked from home all spring, I thought I would test if it could be a good idea to work part-time and take some part-time vacation during a set period this summer. I love to drive my motorbike, so I sat down and made a route I would follow, where I could drive from place to place during my vacation days and find amazing places to work from. It made it feel like I was still on vacation while working."

Karl tested this new way of working for a couple of weeks and he really loved it. He got the opportunity to find places to work from such as in front of an idyllic lake or a small garden full of flowers. He also felt like he really was on vacation, even though he could not travel abroad.

"When travelling around for a long time, there will always be some setback, such as some unplanned repairs and bad weather that ruined my camping plans, but as long as you are prepared for unplanned setback you are good. As for working conditions, they have been good. The biggest problems I have encountered are the situations where the Wi-Fi connection has been swaying without warning. Otherwise, it has worked well."

Freedom and easy change of environment

The most positive thing about his experiment must be the feeling of freedom and possibility to change the environment and working position easy. In that way, he also got a naturally healthy movement throughout his working day.

Another thing Karl experienced was that he did well by planning where he would set up the workplace for the day. And he always had a couple of extra options, if needed. For example, if he arrived at a location he wanted to work from and the Wi-Fi was bad, he could easily drive to option number two. To get the best environment for working Karl also tried to set up his computer in a similar way to how he does when sitting in the regular office.

"I did my best to set up the computer slightly raised and use a keyboard and a mouse. Another thing is that you want to be able to shut out the outside world as best as you can. So good headphones and a good mic for Teams meetings are essential."

Karl is highly positive about companies letting employees work more remotely, and he thinks that this is one of the positive effects of Covid-19. Companies have seen that employees who have the possibility to work more remotely feel they have more trust from the company, they are saving travel time in the mornings and afternoons and are working more efficiently.

"Accepting remote work makes the employees so much more flexible. Especially for me who has no direct colleague in my office. By that, I mean no one in the same role at my department. The possibility of remote work gives me the opportunity to travel to visit colleagues in the same role, but also to work from places that give me my ideal work environment. For some people that might be in a big office, but for those who concentrate better alone, it will give them more motivation to know that they can work remotely some days a week."

A new experiment

All in all, Karl’s experiment has been successful, and when we asked him if he would do the same next summer he answered with a smile:

"I’m eager to take this a step further. I’m not quite sure how I will do that yet, but if you want to know, hang on and I will definitely let you know when I have the answer." 

Karl’s working from the road tips:

• Be prepared for the unplanned and unexpected, travel with an open and solution-oriented mind.
• Make a concrete plan for places where you want to work and also want to see
• Always have a plan B on where to work, in case unplanned situations come up, like bad Wi-Fi.
• Bring a keyboard and a mouse and don’t forget a good headset