Picture this: The zoom meeting has just ended, it’s your lunchbreak and you’re off to catch some rays on a beach in Spain.
Sounds like a pipe dream, right?
Well maybe not, as it turns out millions are now being allowed to work remotely from outside of the UK.
Figures from accountancy firm RSM UK showed 33 per cent of businesses let their employees to log in from anywhere.
Supporters of the remote life argue it gives them a better work-life balance, allowing them to see family who may live abroad and escape Britain’s cold winters.
But remote critics say working from home stifles productivity and stops workers from being able to really connect and create with colleagues.
Research has also found that working from home can prove worse for employees’ mental health, as some feel like they never properly switch off from work due to their office also being their home, while others struggle with feeling isolated and miss the socialisation of an office environment.
But how do the people for whom the beach-office life is a reality feel about it?
From meetings on paddleboards and checking emails on safari to walking the cats at lunchtime, MailOnline spoke to the people checking out of the office…
The toy maker who lives in a van
Toy manufacturer Paolo Dyboski-Bryant, 53, has been remote working since December 2020 and has logged in from France, Spain, Germany, the US and the UK.
She has even taken a meeting on a paddleboard!
The mother-of-three, who was born in Milan and grew up in Liguria, Genova, lives in a van with her home-schooled 14-year-old son.
‘It’s really positive for him because I’ve got time when he needs it,’ Ms Dyboski-Bryant, who also chairs Welsh refugee charity Pobl i Bobl, told MailOnline.
‘It’s incredible. We have been into prehistoric caves, we’ve been exploring marine reserves. The kind of things that are biology or history hands on that he wouldn’t get otherwise.’
Toy manufacturer Paolo Dyboski-Bryant, who was born in Milan and grew up in Liguria, Genova, lives in a van with her home-schooled 14-year-old son
Ms Dyboski-Bryant said the Covid pandemic allowed ways of working that hadn’t been seen as acceptable before
Ms Dyboski-Bryant. who also chairs Welsh refugee charity Pobl i Bobl, has even taken a meeting on a paddleboard
Ms Dyboski-Bryant’s team is based in North Wales and she believes that allowing employees to work remotely from abroad has been great for moral, as well as productivity.
‘It’s not that I’m on holiday, they know that I’m working and they know they can rely on my 24/7 to be there and play my part,’ she said. ‘It wouldn’t work without great great teamwork.’
Ms Dyboski-Bryant said the Covid pandemic allowed ways of working that hadn’t been seen as acceptable before.
‘It changed everybody’s mindsets, which helps. I think we gave each other a bit of slack as well.
She added that people became a bit more open minded, and the flexibility was now there if you needed to work remotely to care for someone, for your health both physical and mental or just to have a better work-life balance.
And during the Covid pandemic, she said ‘so many people proved that they could go above and beyond with flexibility’.
Ms Dyboski-Bryant’s team is based in North Wales and she believes that allowing employees to work remotely from abroad has been great for moral, as well as productivity
During the Covid pandemic, she said ‘so many people proved that they could go above and beyond with flexibility’
She said: ‘When I’m in work [at the toy factory] I’m doing details, when I’m out of work I’m doing the overviews and strategic meetings.
‘So I’ve just been out in London with my middle daughter. My eldest is in Cardiff so when I’m in the UK I will also work from there I was in London taking meetings a couple of days ago. It doesn’t matter where I am, as long as I have my laptop.’
Ms Dybonski-Bryant said it was powerful to see how workers went ‘above and beyond’ with flexibility during the pandemic, ‘working their socks off’ to get things done under the circumstances.
But with some companies going back to pre-pandemic requirements of office working, she added: ‘Then to go back to something that’s a bit of a paternalistic society that tells you that you have to be at your desk, it’s difficult.
‘And people don’t want to hear that. Feeling that trust, that respect, was good for everyone.’
The consultant who checks emails on safari in Kenya
Sonya Barlow can work from anywhere, including checking emails while on safari in Kenya.
The 30-year-old diversity and inclusion consultant works for three companies – all of which allow her to work remotely from wherever she chooses.
A big travel lover, Ms Barlow has seized this opportunity and constantly travels for work – having set up office in places including Mauritius, Estonia, Turkey and Nairobi.
And she stays in beautiful hotels kitted out with gyms and spas to make it all the sweeter.
She raved about the benefits of remote working in an interview with MailOnline, saying: ‘I’m in a better headspace, I’m focused, I’m more productive. I’m able to turn or offload my apps. I can turn my social media off. I am able to get the work done.’
Sonya Barlow can work from anywhere, including checking emails while on safari and Kenya
The 30-year-old diversity and inclusion consultant works for three companies – all of which allow her to work remotely from wherever she chooses
And she stays in beautiful hotels kitted out with gyms and spas to make it all the sweeter
A big travel lover, Ms Barlow has seized this opportunity and constantly travels for work – having set up office in places including Mauritius, Estonia, Turkey and Nairobi
Ms Barlow, who is also a business author and radio presenter for BBC, was also diagnosed with ADHD last year.
She said she finds changing screens regularly and being in new environments can help ‘increase my mental cognitive functions’, adding that the freedom of being able to control her working hours a bit more has been invaluable.
‘Because I’m neurodivergent I can give my brain a rest, which is really important,’ she said.
And the social aspect of remote working is something that attracts her to that way of life.
She said: ‘The great thing about working abroad, not just in the UK, is that the sunshine lasts a little bit longer and so you are not worried about “Oh I need to go the gym, or go for a walk and get my Vitamin D” in the morning.
Ms Barlow, who is also a business author and radio presenter for BBC, was also diagnosed with ADHD last year
She said she finds changing screens regularly and being in new environments can help ‘increase my mental cognitive functions’
Ms Barlow added that the freedom of being able to control her working hours a bit more has been invaluable
But Ms Barlow did point out that it’s not all great, as remote working can pose challenges
‘I can actually get the work done and then in the evening I can go and enjoy myself and be in a better headspace.’
But Ms Barlow did point out that it’s not all great, as remote working can pose challenges.
‘The negatives of not being in an office environment is that you don’t get to collaborate with your team in the same way,’ she said.
‘There’s a lack of networking when you’re not in the office. You don’t really know what’s happening day to day so you need to be constantly informed.’
Another negative she said was that you are constantly working with technology, so finding ways of offsetting that is key, and if your laptop or wifi crashes, you’re in trouble.
The journalist who walks his cats in Lithuania
Josh Askew, 28, was travelling back and forth between London and Vilinius, Lithuania to visit his girlfriend who studies there.
But in January he decided to make the jump and move out there properly, thanks to remote working.
The Euronews journalist, from Brighton, now spends his lunchbreaks taking his two bengal cats on walks. He said the low cost of living has given him a much better quality of life.
‘I can have quite a decent life here as the rent is very cheap and the cost of living is low,’ he said. ‘It’s a much gentler pace.’
Euronews journalist Josh Askew, from Brighton, now spends his lunchbreaks taking his two bengal cats on walks
Askew was travelling back and forth between London and Vilinius, Lithuania to visit his girlfriend (pictured) who studies there, so moved out in January
Mr Askew added: ‘I can take my two bengal cats out for a quick walk, maybe go to a cafe nearby.
‘Life can be a bit more leisurely and it can definitely be a lot more flexible by the fact that you’re working from home.
‘It’s easier to adapt to unforeseen events and circumstances.’
But he said home working does have its downsides, such as feeling alienated.
He said: ‘Because I work remotely I haven’t even seen some of my colleagues face to face, what they look like.
‘So it can be harder to make friends because you don’t necessarily have a pool of people to draw upon.’
Mr Askew added: ‘I can take my two bengal cats out (pictured) for a quick walk, maybe go to a cafe nearby’
‘Life can be a bit more leisurely and it can definitely be a lot more flexible by the fact that you’re working from home,’ Mr Askew added.
Mr Askew also said that you can end up working longer hours when logging in remotely, as there’s ‘no real escape from it’.
‘It’s very easy to find yourself working overtime,’ he said.
‘Of course you gain more not having to commute but then you kind of lose that as you’ll do half an hour here and an hour there. It adds up.’
However, Mr Askew insisted that depsite its negatives, he is still a ‘firm believer in remote working’.
‘I don’t think I could ever, ever go back,’ he said.
The media head who escapes cold British winters
Miguel López Cedeño, who is head of paid media at Absolute Digital Media, is allowed to work wherever he chooses in the world.
While he currently lives in the UK, the 36-year-old father-of-one has been lucky enough to work from both Greece and Spain.
He told MailOnline that the flexibility has been key, as his family live abroad and it means he can see them more.
‘It provides the opportunity to spend time with part of my family who are currently residing in Europe,’ Mr López Cedeño said
‘It also enables me to access other types of support, such as healthcare.
‘Not to mention that the chance to escape the cold British winters!’
Miguel López Cedeño, who is head of paid media at Absolute Digital Media, is allowed to work wherever he chooses in the world (pictured working in Greece)
Mr López Cedeño, who became a father earlier this year, said that being closer to his friends and family has boosted his productivity.
He said: ‘Being able to change my work environment from time to time also provides a reset and often encourages me to keep pushing forward.’
The lack of Vitamin D in the UK was a big driving force in his decision to remote work from abroad.
‘I also enjoy having more exposure to the sun during the winter abroad compared to in the UK where daylight hours are more limited,’ he added.
And in a digital age, Mr López Cedeño feels technology is breaking down the boundaries of working abroad, helping people feeling more satisfied in their jobs.
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