Buzzword ‘Workation’ –  An interview with Dirk

Work where others spend their holidays – with a workation, it's possible. Even at catworkx. In our first blog article, Angelika, our marketing employee, reported on her trip to Brussels. Now our Head of Sales, Dirk, has also tried it out. He was in the sunny south, in Málaga to be precise. Find out how he experienced his workation and what he thinks about it here in the second part of our series on the topic.

Hello Dirk – it's great to have you back for another interview. You already answered our questions once before when you introduced your sales team. Now you've just been to Spain...

Dirk: I had planned a two-week holiday in Spain – and the idea of adding another two weeks in Málaga. I just wanted to see what it was like to be able to go to the beach after work. I also have a friend in Málaga whom I haven't seen for years due to coronavirus, and I liked the idea of having more than two weeks to catch up with him.

Dirk: No, not at all. I rented an apartment with a workspace on Airbnb. All I had to do was connect to the Wi-Fi, and I was able to work without any problems. It was really like working from home.

I've looked into workations quite a bit: if you can't find suitable accommodation, you can rent co-working spaces almost anywhere these days. They cost around £150 a month. That's no problem either!

Dirk: That depends a little on how long you are away. If you are only away for two weeks, there is not much to consider. If you are away for longer, you need to organise a few ‘earthly’ things, such as what to do with your post. Bills may arrive that need to be paid, appointments may need to be rescheduled, etc. I was lucky – my daughter took care of my post. But not everyone has an adult daughter at home.
Do you have relatives, pets or flowers that need looking after? For example, I have a mother in a nursing home whom I visit once a week. I had to find someone to stand in for me.
And, of course, I checked the Wi-Fi connection at my destination beforehand to make sure it was good enough to watch the world's biggest club from the most beautiful city in the world (editor's note: Dirk is from Cologne ;-)).

Dirk: I think that employees who go on workations definitely benefit from them. It was a great feeling not to have to go home after two weeks and to be able to enjoy the sun a little longer and spend time with my boyfriend. But I also believe that the company benefits. When it comes to recruiting new employees, workation can certainly be a deciding factor in choosing catworkx. And as I said, I also felt much more relaxed coming back from Málaga than after two weeks of holiday.

Dirk: I'll definitely do it again. I've already got something planned for autumn and next year. Hopefully, I'll manage to spend the full three months we have available for travelling. I can only recommend everyone to give it a try.