Not A Workation, Just Work

Recently, I was in a videoconference with a colleague, discussing our latest project. As we concluded our conversation, she asked if I could join her and some other colleagues later for after-work drinks. I paused for a second, then said: “I would love to, but I am 9,000 kilometers away from your location right now.”

For the past three months, I had been working from an office in Taipei, Taiwan. She hadn’t even noticed. We rarely meet in person, and our conversations are usually videoconferences. From her perspective, nothing about our work together had changed. This was a remarkable moment for us both.

When I talk to people about working remotely, they often say something like, “Ah, you are doing a little workation!” But that word does not reflect what I do.

I have been working from global locations for over a decade now. Even before I started in technology consulting, I collaborated with colleagues via Slack and Google Workspace (back then called G Suite). Later, my projects and collaboration tools shifted increasingly to Azure services and Microsoft 365. I love to meet people and have a personal connection, but in the era of freedom through Cloud, my work frequently allows for whole weeks, sometimes even months, of remote work. It is exciting when I can collaborate seamlessly with clients and colleagues, independent of my current location on the globe.

Part of why I am writing this is because there seems to be a misperception that “working from another country” means a “workation.” Frequently, this is tied to clichéd pictures of people sitting at the beach with their laptop, Mojito in hand. This is not what I do. When I am working from another country, I usually rent an office space. I get up in the morning, commute to work, and work normal office hours. When I don’t have access to an office, I make sure to have at least a quiet working area with a proper desk and a fast internet connection. My responsibilities do not change while I am working remotely.

It is just work.

Digital workplace technology allows for new ways of living and working. Personally, I have gained the freedom to live in different countries without impacting my productivity or relationships with colleagues and clients. I also have the option to spend several weeks at a client location without the need to constantly commute back home between workdays. This level of flexibility is one of the major reasons why I love my job so much, despite the sometimes stressful phases in consulting.

Do you also choose your own work location?

#RemoteWork #Workation #DigitalWorkplace #Cloud #Microsoft365 #GoogleWorkspace #Slack #Taiwan