How much isolation does remote work need? Can working from anywhere work? In this article, our colleague Gregor reveals why he achieves top performance at an altitude of 1865 meters – and where his favourite workplace in the world is located.
If you want to visit Gregor in his winter office, you need to be able to put on snow chains. It’s best to try this in summer – you can practise in favourable conditions. “When we have 20 cm of fresh snow here in winter, it’s not so easy! Then there’s often icy wind, snow and poor visibility.” “Here” in this case refers to the Austrian border triangle between Salzburg, Carinthia and Styria.
How did he get there?
When it was decided during the coronavirus lockdown in 2021 that working from home was mandatory throughout Germany, Gregor decided to swap his 36 square metre flat in Munich for his parents’ spacious home in the Nockberg region, at least for a few days a year. His study there: flooded with light, recently renovated, with a balcony and lake view. In addition to his family, he also has his two Maine Coone cats Gizmo and Söckchen around him.
Practise under safe conditions: Gregor recommends this principle not only for putting on snow chains, but also for the “Remote Work” project. That’s why he first completed a few trial working days in the mountain region to make sure that it was possible to work efficiently from there. He has never regretted his decision to move between workplaces: “On the contrary. There was so much in favour of it. My mum passed away unexpectedly shortly after the lockdown began and so, unknowingly, I still had the opportunity to spend time with her and be with her. I’m also a very introverted person, so the working conditions here are ideal. Me in an open-plan office? That would be a disaster!”
Does he sometimes miss Munich when he is back home for the winter? “I always enjoy being in Munich, but here I have the opportunity to fulfil completely different hobbies and strengths of mine, such as woodworking and craftsmanship. Especially in winter, when you spend most of your time indoors, space is limited in the city – whereas here, in this large house, you have enough room for hobbies and socialising. My father and I made the solid spruce front door that my family and our guests walk in and out of every day ourselves. It gives me the feeling that I get much more out of the day; every working day is also about a third of a holiday for me.”
Too good to be true?
Of course, the secluded life in the mountains doesn’t just have its advantages. “Supplies in particular are much more complicated and require more time and planning than in the city.” The nearest supermarket is around half an hour’s drive from Gregor’s parents’ house, while other shops for everyday needs are around three quarters to a whole hour away. Per journey! And if there’s nothing there, just order a pizza? That’s not so easy here either: restaurants don’t deliver that far up the road, and only a few parcel services and haulage companies have Gregor’s address within their delivery radius. And as you can imagine, specialist shops, cinemas and cultural institutions aren’t exactly around the corner either.
Nevertheless, Gregor would not want to give up the opportunity to work from the mountains again – he already had the widest possible choice in his life. When he signed on to a ship after graduating, his workplace was: the world. Today, he knows (almost) every country, landscape and coastline he has ever wanted to see. And he has clearly decided in favour of the world’s best places: our Sendling agency and his home in the Austrian Nockberge mountains.
How does remote work work?
According to Gregor, only a few things are essential for his work as a programmer: electricity, internet and a computer. If you can provide these things in high quality, you’re already on the right track. Everything else then serves the purposes of work safety and comfort, two factors that should not be ignored in the medium to long term.
There are many things that speak in favour of doing at least part of your work from home. For one thing, you can save time in cash: Those who commute long distances every day – and this is not uncommon, especially in the Munich area – often “give away” several hours. Every day. Time that you can dedicate to your family, your own hobbies or simply to housework thanks to working from home. Time that can generally be organised much more flexibly and more closely to life. More productivity also comes from the fact that people can work when they are most productive.
Employers also benefit. Comprehensive studies confirm the subjective perception of many people who are already working from home: Less absenteeism and burnout, greater efficiency, quality of work and quality of life. On the other hand, the hypothesis that workplace loyalty would decrease with increased home office use has not been confirmed – on the contrary. Employees who enjoy using this option usually have a very positive attitude towards their company and are unwilling to change jobs.
The challenge: work and life time should be consistently separated and necessary rest breaks should be taken. Those who can organise their time more flexibly often tend to work more overtime – it is important to set disciplined boundaries here to prevent overworking.
And how do you ensure that the sense of community doesn’t fall by the wayside? schalk&friends team leader Florian Reiner is very familiar with the topic, as many of his team members work remotely. That’s why, in addition to regular meetings that ensure a smooth professional exchange and uncomplicated planning, he has also introduced “tele-lunches”: digital lunch breaks where people can chat about private matters, news and interesting facts away from to-do lists, Jira tickets and deadlines. Our mobile office policy also provides for a fixed office day each week on which all team members meet together in the office. As a digital agency, we are convinced of this: Anyone who thinks that working from home doesn’t work probably doesn’t have the right tools at hand.
To summarise: working at home can be an incredible relief and increase productivity, especially for very introverted people – whereas extroverted personalities tend to miss the social component of the office, impulses from other trades and the exchange with colleagues. However, the majority of people are clearly neither one nor the other. That’s why we at schalk&friends offer many individualised, hybrid solutions that are tailored not only to the work, but also to the life situation and personality of our employees. So that they can work the way that suits them best – and live the way they want.
