Remote Working

The Global Pandemic brought about a real shift to how we think about work, and especially where we work. When considering the future of work, and specifically workplace flexibility, the key considerations encompass what work we do, when we do that work, who we work with, how we work, and where we work.

In an effort to better understand any challenges my clients or their employees may face when it comes to remote working, in 2022 I decided to embark on a journey of remote working in Tenerife. I have since been back a few times, and currently writing this from a warm and sunny Los Cristianos.

In the below I outline what I have learned.

Remote vs Hybrid

The terms remote and hybrid tend to be used interchangeably (myself included). The real difference between the two is that hybrid you need to be relatively near the office so that you can access it by commuting a reasonable distance. Remote working means you don’t need to be in the office at all, and essentially you can work from anywhere.

Work from home becomes work from anywhere

Benefits of remote work

I shared my experience of remote working in January 2022 in a Sunday Times article and again in June 2022 for the Weekend supplement of the Irish Times. You can read all about my own and others’ experiences.?

To be frank, the articles paint quite a rosy picture of the experience. There are some great benefits of working remotely - normally people choose to spend their time in a hot country. For me, I chose Tenerife, it’s in the EU and the temperature is in the 20’s all year round. It was nice to escape the Irish winter.

There are some other great benefits like a lower cost of living compared to Ireland (though prices are increasing here too!). Because of the longer, warmer days in winter, I find I have a better work life balance than I would do at home - I make sure to get out every day for a walk and also to enjoy the sunset in the evening.

I’ve spent some time exploring the island as well as other islands, and checking out local restaurants and bars. It’s great to be able to combine work with the feeling of being on holidays.

Tenerife is only a 4 hours direct flight from Dublin and flights are relatively inexpensive if you can find the right time (I paid as little as €130 return with Aer Lingus ).

Here are some insights from my first stint working remotely:

Considerations for remote working

As with everything, it does come with its challenges and downsides!?

Loneliness

If you travel on your own, you may miss friends and family back home and feel a pang of loneliness realising they are not on your doorstep anymore. By chance, I found a great group of expat women in the form of Ladies in Business Tenerife - and even spoke at an event for them recently all about imposter syndrome. I would advise anyone to work in coworking spaces as a way to meet new people who are in a similar situation to you.

Productivity

Some companies may worry that productivity falls due to remote working and less time at work. I find sometimes the opposite is true - I am more focused on the important things that need to be done, and sometimes I get so wrapped up in work I find it hard to switch off. My advice is to ruthlessly prioritise what needs to be done (and what doesn’t need to be done) and avoid meetings that you don’t need to be part of.

Motivation

You may find that motivation is sometimes waning when the sun is shining outside and you’d rather be in the sun on the beach enjoying yourself! I’m not a big believer in motivation, but rather commitment - if you have committed to doing something, get it done. This ties in with ruthlessly prioritising what actually needs to be done in order to “move the needle” on whatever it is you are trying to achieve.

Tax

There are some areas that are tax havens, as described in the Irish Times article above. For the most part, you need to consider how long you will be out of Ireland. In any given tax year, to remain resident in Ireland, you can’t be out of the country for more than 183 days (around 6 months) or for 2 consecutive years, no more than 280 days out of the country. I am sure there are similar rules for other countries. This is an interesting article I read recently about the implications.

Some organisations offer their employees up to 3 months working abroad to avoid breaking these types of tax thresholds.

For me, I haven’t reached the threshold yet, but likely will by the end of 2023, so I will be looking for a tax accountant with expertise in Irish and Spanish tax rules - I know there is an agreement between the two countries but will need help to navigate the implications for me.

Routine

I found when I first moved over that having a routine really helped me. I was doing a yoga challenge, my Spanish language training on Duolingo , and also doing some brain training in the morning. At the time I was still recovering from Covid, so was easing gently back into my working routine. I would work for a few hours after breakfast and then read by the pool for a couple of hours before returning to work in the afternoon and then watch the sunset in the evening. I was there with a friend and we stayed in most evenings and went out on the weekends.

Getting sick abroad

While staying in Tenerife, I got Covid for the second time. Luckily, it wasn’t as bad as the first time and there were people who could go to the shops for me to buy water and other essentials. I was sick on other occasions as well and found the healthcare system better than that of Ireland (perhaps I haven’t experienced the Irish healthcare system to its fullest!) - with a free visit to the emergency doctor using my EU Health card - recommended for everyone if you are EU based and don’t yet have one.

Wifi

Wifi has never been an issue for me working in Tenerife, it is just as good as at home. But it may be a consideration in other countries.

Accommodation

When I first lived in Tenerife, we used AirBnB to find accommodation. There are, however, cheaper alternatives. Local listings (in Spain Idealista), and also an abundance of Facebook groups, WhatsApp groups and Telegram groups will show an abundance of short term holidays rentals available. For those looking to stay longer-term, it is worth considering that most accommodation offered is for short term and it is very difficult to find anything for the longer term (the curse of digital nomadism).

Time difference

Tenerife is the same time as Ireland, and Portugal. But another consideration for remote working is if there is a time difference and you may need to work a different schedule - depending on the time of your clients or team.

Learning more about some of the challenges I encountered in the podcast below.

Where to find remote work

There are a lot of jobs being offered as “remote” on LinkedIn, but it’s worth checking whether they really are remote, or do they require some time in the office (i.e. hybrid). There are lots of specific websites where you can search for remote work. The list is too extensive to share here, but if you would like me to send it to you, do feel free to reach out!

Where to remote work

The? benefits of staying in the EU is that you don’t need to worry about getting a visa to work there. (Sorry to the British reading this - I am not sure of the implications for you since Brexit). There are plenty of places to work depending on what you’re looking for. Whether it’s mountains and skiing, hiking, travelling like a nomad, sun...

Which companies offer remote work?

A lot of companies are shifting to a hybrid- or remote-working model for the many benefits that come with it as well as staying ahead of the curve. It has become a way to differentiate organisations, part of the employee value proposition. Companies not offering any type of flexible working solutions (to those who can perform them) such as these will find it difficult to retain and attract staff in the future.

I know of some organisations that have a remote-working policy in place, which allows employees to work from anywhere for up to 3 months of the year - if you do have this opportunity, I say DO IT!?

I am also seeing more of a shift with a lot of organisations becoming “remote first” - this means putting the emphasis on an asynchronous working model. It is less about when we work and more about what we do, how we do it, and why we do it. There are so many ways to approach this, including rethinking how/ why you run meetings and who needs to be there.

GitLab is one organisation that has been built from the start a a remote working organisation. They share a lot of their tools and approaches publicly so that other organisations can learn from them. Thanks Rowena (Ro) Hennigan for sharing the link to their handbook: https://about.gitlab.com/handbook/

Who does remote work?

When I first started learning about remote work, I assumed that it was only available to certain demographics. I have since learned that people from all backgrounds and walks of life can enjoy remote working - even families!

What kind of work can be done remotely?

Any work that doesn’t require a physical presence - so it may be easier to think of the kind of roles that can’t be done remotely, e.g. facilities manager, pilot, hairdresser, dentist, factory worker…

Will remote work continue?

I think te pandemic has changed the way we work forever, and while I am a big believer in the benefits of working with people in person, I do believe that remote working will continue for the time being - it’s like pandora’s box, now that we know what is available to us, it’s very hard to consider anything else.

Listen to Jennifer D. share her insights on the future of remote and hybrid working.

Have you ever experienced remote working? I’d love to know in the comments, join the conversation.

What to look forward to

In the next edition of this newsletter, I will talk about effective feedback. Available in 2 weeks.

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Aoife O’Brien is the founder of Happier at Work, a business with the mission to support organisations in retaining top talent. She is passionate about ‘fit’ and specifically how creating the right environment can help individuals to reach their full potential and support organisations to thrive. She is a self-professed data nerd, with a 20+ year career in market research in the fast-moving consumer goods industry working with clients like Coca Cola, Unilever and Heinz to solve marketing problems using data analytics. Aoife has been featured by several media platforms and public speaking events talking about imposter syndrome, fit, employee engagement, and productivity. She has lived and worked in Dublin, London, Perth, and Sydney and has a MSc in Work and Organisational Behaviour, a Diploma in Executive and Life Coaching and a Certificate in Career Coaching.?

The Happier at Work podcast, features a combination of interview-based episodes as well as solo podcasting, and has nearly 70k listens in more than 50 countries. It was recently runner up for 2 awards. You can sign up to the Happier at Work LinkedIn Newsletter to receive the podcast straight in your LinkedIn notifications when it goes live every Friday!