"Don't call it 'work from home'. We work from anywhere now!"
The desire for location-independent work is not a temporary trend, but an expression of a fundamental change in the world of work. For New Work to remain more than just a buzzword, it needs digital solutions, clear communication and leadership that allows freedom.
How can this work? A field report by Alpay Yilmaz.
Las Palmas on Gran Canaria. In the coworking space "The House", the coffee machine hums, coffee cups clatter and the morning sun shines through palm leaves onto the terrace. Wooden tables are set up under large parasols, digital nomads have set up their laptops. Alpay Yilmaz is one of them. He works as a marketing manager at Helden Consulting GmbH, a management consultancy that operates throughout Germany. He supports his clients exclusively online. All he needs for daily business is a laptop, smartphone and a stable connection to the World Wide Web.
The hybrid workplace model has established itself. However, in the perfect form that Alpay lives it, it remains the exception: traveling and working become one. Here in Spain, Alpay combines his job with café con leche and surfing. But after six months at the latest, he will break up his tents and move on.
"Work-life balance means balancing two components against each other, which is why we talk about work-life migration."
Alpay Yilmaz, Helden Consulting GmbH
Work & Surf
Workation in Spain
"I have a certain place in mind that interests me. Then I find out whether the general conditions are right there – and I'm almost gone," he describes. What does his boss say? He takes the opportunity to schedule a face-to-face meeting outside the office. In this case in Gran Canaria.
When Alpay prepares for a change of destination, the first thing he does is check his internet connection. Apart from Germany, this is no longer really a big challenge, he jokes. There are coworking spaces and Airbnb apartments all over the world that provide sufficient bandwidth.
Next, he clarifies the respective legal regulations. In Germany, for example, the 183-day rule applies. Anyone who works abroad for less than half of a year, receives their salary from a business based in Germany and has a permanent residence with key authority in this country must pay their taxes to the German tax authorities. Alpay is therefore registered as a lodger with his parents in Kiel, who also take care of his few letters. Nevertheless, different (tax) rules apply in other countries. Alpay advises people to inform themselves conscientiously and in detail in order to avoid bureaucratic hassle. The information is usually easy to find on the internet – and if not, he asks the owner of his accommodation.
The right technology
for remote working
Anyone who talks to Alpay notices how balanced and cheerful he is. A better work-life balance is one of many arguments in favor of flexible working models. Alpay and his colleagues are one step ahead: "Work-life balance means balancing two components against each other. But we no longer distinguish between work and leisure at all and therefore speak of work-life migration." And so Alpay goes surfing in the afternoons when he feels like it.
This is possible because the company does not follow a traditional working time model. Instead, the workload is based on projects. Complex project, lots of work – simpler project, more free time. Ideal conditions for working without a fixed place of work or fixed working hours. But by no means standard or transferable to companies, authorities and the like. On the one hand, because customer data is stored centrally and usually in several applications. On the other hand, because employees should be reachable on a fixed office number in hotlines, for example – a killer argument against remote work?
Not if a communication solution such as XPhone Connect creates the right conditions for this. Thanks to Softphone, AnyDevice and Mobile App, employees can work from anywhere in the world just as if they were in the office. They are fully integrated into corporate communications and business processes. A positive side effect is that remote workstations can also be set up particularly cost-effectively.
Hybrid work does not fail because of the technology. Rather, it is the mental barriers at management level that need to be broken down, says Alpay. All too often, absence from the office is still equated with a lack of control. His boss, on the other hand, is taking a truly heroic lead here.