Talentica Launches Workation to Make Work Fun!
Desk jobs and cubicles stifle employees by creating boundaries. It is time we move beyond and explore other avenues.
Imagine yourself coding while having a foot spa in the sea or working on accounts while inhaling the pine-adorned breeze. And that too, with your workmates whom you have met only on virtual calls in the last couple of years. In addition, you can think of exploring local dishes once you shut your screens, trekking on weekends, shopping, or just unwinding amidst nature.
Sounds great, right? We are sure that there will be no naysayer if they are given a chance to work like this. That is why we, at Talentica Software, decided to make this a reality by introducing workation for our employees so that they can work, rejuvenate, and have fun together.
What is workation?
Workation is exactly how it sounds, work + vacation = workation. It is a combination of business and leisure where you can send emails while sunning yourself, hit the beach and the targets simultaneously, or brainstorm on a balcony with a view of snow-capped mountains.
Why do we need it?
When it comes to building a team, we find Amy Poehler’s quote on finding people with the right mindset very inspiring-
“Find a group of people who challenge and inspire you, spend a lot of time with them, and it will change your life.”
We can vouch from our experience that such teams have a high chance of securing the success which depends a lot on how everyone in a team performs and how they bond. That is why, at Talentica, we always plan events or activities as a team. Here we brainstorm by the coffee machine, play on Xbox, do trekking, and a lot of other stuff together.
But lockdowns changed things a lot.
- Meeting people in person became impossible and with those executing plans that used to hold us together earlier was lost somewhere. Though we tried to bring people together on Zoom calls and have fun, but to be honest, we could sense that the vibe was missing.
- We also struggled to make new people fit in. Experiencing the culture of a company on Zoom calls is like climbing Mount Everest on Google. You can see what is there on the top, but you cannot feel the adrenaline rush, the piercing wind, or the touch of the snowflakes on your face.
- Culture was not the only concern that we had in mind. Oracle’s report on how employees feel when they work from home also made us think about some innovative routes to ensure the well-being of our employees. As per the report, in over 11 countries, 78% of the workforce believe that the work from home setup has negatively impacted their mental health. Employees find establishing routines and setting up boundaries to separate professional lives from personal lives challenging, and consequently, they become unhappy.
All these had a cumulative effect on our decision-making process. It prompted us to do something different, to bring our teams together so that they can develop rapport, interact better, and learn more about who we are and how we work. We leveraged the lockdown relaxations to make these get-togethers more memorable and launched workation.
What is the plan?
We have chalked a few guidelines for our workation initiative-
- 7-days workation.
- Teams can pick a place anywhere in India.
- Company will bear the costs of
- Return airfare and transport to and from the workation destination.
- Lodging.
- COVID test.
Teams have already started exploring India. One of our teams recently had a wonderful time in Shimla where they worked and jammed together, fell in love with local delicacies, experienced beautiful sunrises and sunsets, and explored the uncharted trails that meander through the pines of the Himalayas.
Once they came back, they could not resist sharing how much fun they had during the trip and how the trip helped them to rejuvenate..
“Workation felt like I was coming out of a cave for the first time. I was so excited as these two years have been just me and my room. I usually work near a window facing a concrete wall, whereas, the view was breathtaking from the window where we lodged for our workation in Shimla. I felt safe and comfortable with my teammates, who are incredibly fun to be around. This workation helped me break the “what my colleagues would think” barrier. I feel grateful to Talentica for coming up with such an initiative.”- Divya Vengada (Software developer)
“It was a unique experience of my professional career. Even a few months back no one of our team could have thought about having daily stand-ups, meetings and demos while living in a heritage villa at a hill station? Workation provided a much-needed break from our daily routine without detaching us from work. We worked with more gusto and bonded better.”- Kaustubh Deshpande (Development Lead)
Such overwhelming responses from our people are always heartening and we want all our teams to have similar experiences. We will share more stories in the coming days. Till then, stay tuned.