Workation experience: Positive in every respect

Taking the IT job to the holiday resort

We had selected accommodation with enough space for two workplaces, a guest room (we also had family visiting in between) and a pool.

During the working week, my wife and I split the work between us: She looked after our daughter from morning to afternoon, and I could concentrate on my work, while from late afternoon to evening it was my turn to look after the kid. The good thing about this arrangement: We were both able to do our jobs and still spend a lot of time with our daughter.

Flexible working hours allow Workation to work even with a small child

However, flexibility was needed when the workload was high: That is when the previously considered schedules were thrown overboard. This, of course, is only possible if both partners have a job with flexible working hours and organisation.

The time we organised for ourselves and the weekends were used for many excursions through beautiful Andalusia. Experiencing something like this as a family is very special! I was reminded of why I enjoy working for a modern, family-friendly employer.

In our first month of workation, we already visited great cities and coastal towns, including Valencia, Alicante, Pego, Dénia, Xábia, Orba and Ondara.

Reaching a new level of work-life balance

Being able to balance out my desk and projects, gather new impressions, learn a new language and talk to the locals, cook Spanish food myself and immerse myself in this culture: All of this was amazing! And the warm weather was also an advantage for a balanced mind.

The second month, November, took us further southwest to Zahara de los Atunes on the Atlantic coast. This small coastal town on the Costa de la Luz is famous for its tuna fishing. Here we lived in a very modern complex, in a terraced house: a huge contrast to the classic, more traditional life in Monte Pego, but one that we liked very much. This way we got to know two different Spanish ways of life, which we would not have experienced if we had stayed in a hotel.

Again, we took the opportunity to go on family excursions. We spent a lot of time at the beautiful Playa de Atlanterra beach, which is only a few kilometres away. And we visited Gibraltar, Marbella, Seville, Cádiz and Vejer de la Frontera, among other places. Then, at the end of November, my wife and daughter flew back to Hamburg via Jerez de la Frontera with a stopover in Madrid. It was my great pleasure travelling back by car in company with a good friend.

Workation experience: Room created for new ideas

My final conclusion: This workation experience has opened up many new perspectives for me. Among these are experiences that can be directly applied to my job and projects. Other positive side effects such as travelling, greater satisfaction, spending time with my family and even being adventurous have had a positive impact on me and helped me develop personally. I returned to my normal working life in Hamburg with a lot of renewed energy, and on particularly dull winter days I could always remember the beautiful images of the Spanish countryside.

Of course, it took a lot of self-organisation and discipline during the two months to do everyone justice. But for us, the advantages clearly outweighed the disadvantages.

I would like to take this opportunity to express my gratitude to the managers and colleagues at q.beyond and logineer who offered me this benefit and opened up this fantastic opportunity for us. Workation is an experience that I highly recommend to everyone!