Knguru's Workation Experience: A Week in Thessaloniki

Last week, our team Met in Thessaloniki, Greece, and spent eight days together — not only with ouzo and gyros, of course, but also with hard work. A workout is therefore not a “real” vacation, during which you not only chill out on the beach, but also sit well at the laptop.

Thanks to remote work, we were able to work in a nice place with colleagues who we otherwise only see on the screen.

However, you should also consider a few thoughts beforehand: Spend a lot of money on an AirBnB or hotel to then work there? Isn't that rather frustrating?

With the advent of autumn/winter in Germany, there was every reason to flee. An umbrella that folds down once too often, shoes that step into puddles once too often, and the flight to Greece was already booked.

Thoughts and questions before the workout:

But before we packed our shorts, we had a few thoughts in mind. For example: Does that fit with our projects?

Workation rarely means ergonomics, two screens and fast Internet. However, if you choose the right week, this restriction can be a feature: For our workout, we chose a week in which we had to learn new topics. New context = new ideas!

What did we have to consider when it came to accommodation?

As romantic as it sounds in theory to have a leisurely breakfast in a different café every morning, it is difficult to reconcile the two-hour meeting that starts at 11:00 a.m. So things are much more relaxed when you have a kitchen available. You can still make the beach cafés unsafe in the afternoon.

Savvy Fox Holidaymakers should make sure that the motto “I'm only in the room to sleep! “Don't pull during a workout. If you don't want to work in lounges or cafés all day long, you should make sure that the room has a certain feel-good factor. It can then look different for everyone — for example, the beautiful view and a very large dining table for working together were more important to us.

‍

Do we address this in customer contact?

Since we were just as easily available at work as in our home office or office, it is of course not absolutely necessary to arrange a trip with customers. But the question is: Why not? Just like colleagues, customers love the sun in a webcam image and nice travel anecdotes! The professional appearance is not related to the location — you should only drink the mojito after the meeting 😉

‍

Internet???

The bad and good news at the same time: In many countries, network expansion is better than in Germany. Depending on the region, it is advisable to research how stable the connection is — but this can be dispensed with in larger cities.

And how was it?

Short answer: It was more than nice! The most important thing for us was to have no leisure stress. We planned what we wanted to do before or after work together.

This flexibility made a decisive contribution to the work being not only productive but also relaxing. We enjoyed not only the professional challenges but also the opportunity to experience the local culture and atmosphere.

Perhaps this is also the great opportunity of working out: Instead of working through checklists, the vacation share becomes real relaxation and an opportunity to get to know normal life at a holiday destination. Because how many times can you say: “I worked in Greece the other day”?

‍

Thematisiere wir das im Kundenkontakt?

Da wir auf unserer Workation genauso uneingeschränkt erreichbar waren wie im Home Office oder Büro ist es natürlich nicht unbedingt nötig, einen Ausflug mit Kund:innen abzusprechen. Die Frage ist aber: Warum nicht? Genauso wie Kolleg:innen freuen sich Kund:innen über Sonne im Webcam-Bild und nette Reiseanekdoten! Das professionelle Auftreten hängt ja nicht mit dem Standort zusammen – nur den Mojito sollte man vielleicht erst nach dem Meeting trinken 😉

‍

Internet???

Die gleichzeitig schlechte und gute Nachricht: In vielen Ländern ist der Netzausbau besser als in Deutschland. Je nach Region empfiehlt es sich, zu recherchieren, wie stabil die Verbindung ist – in größeren Städten kann darauf aber verzichtet werden.

Und wie war's?

Kurze Antwort: Es war mehr als schön! Das Wichtigste für uns war, keinen Freizeitstress zu haben. Die Planung, was wir vor oder nach der Arbeit unternehmen wollten, erfolgte gemeinsam.

Diese Flexibilität trug entscheidend dazu bei, dass die Workation nicht nur produktiv, sondern auch entspannend war. Wir genossen nicht nur die beruflichen Herausforderungen, sondern auch die Möglichkeit, die lokale Kultur und Atmosphäre zu erleben.

Vielleicht ist das auch gerade die große Chance an einer Workation: Anstatt Checklisten abzuarbeiten wird der Vacation-Anteil zur echten Erholung und Gelegenheit, das normale Leben am Urlaubsort kennen zu lernen. Denn wie oft kann man schon sagen:„Ich habe letztens in Griechenland gearbeitet.“?

‍