You work in a shared office environment, and you’ve already taken your vacation for the year, but you’re in desperate need of a change of scenery. The answer: coworkcation.
DeskMag has thoroughly covered this phenomenon, calling it “The most productive holiday you can take(deskmag).” Many individuals that work in coworking spaces are self employed or freelancers. Vacations do not come as easily as the do for the 9-5, two week vacation corporate worker. Vacations can often add on piles of work, increased anxiety, and worrying about the next pay day. We are not advocating a lack in work-life balance, but the struggle is real when it comes to self-employed individuals growing a business. If you’re not having to constantly pitch to clients, and you have a healthy load of projects on your plate and some disposable income to spare, you should definitely consider a coworkcation.
Deskmag highlights two particular options in particular, The Surf Office and Sunny Office.
Surf Office - Locations: Gran Canaria, Barcelona, Malaga, Lisbon, and Madeira
Michal Kostal, co-founder of The Surf Office, has taken a major step when combining holidays and coworking. Kostal states, ‘We would like to achieve a balance for people who are coming from a coworking environment, and also for those employees who are simply feeling burnt-out (deskmag).’”
Sunny Office - Locations: Spain and Portugal
“For Katja Andes, the mind behind Sunny Office, having the ability to freely work where you want is one of the best parts of coworking. After quitting her job last November, she decided to take advantage of her newfound freedom, skip the harsh German winter, and book a flight to the South of Spain. ‘Once I was there I started to meet cool people, but I knew I was missing some coworkers. I realized that I didn’t want to be alone with nobody to discuss my projects with,’ Andes told Deskmag.”
Corporations are also jumping on this idea. They are sending teams to work at coworkcation locations. These spaces also have events that interest corporations as well, kind of like a beefed up team building exercise. So, as a freelancer, there may be some corporate guys and gals that will be coworking with you. But hey, everyone could use a beautiful place to get some good work done.
I know what you may be thinking… is this tax deductible? We will let Sunny Office answer this question: “Usually you are able to deduct the costs from your taxes. The regulation might be different in each country, but in general a Sunny Office is about networking, project work and exchange (Sunny Office).” But you should definitely check with your tax professional before jumping on that plane ticket purchase.
Both spaces try to keep out tourists so that you are surrounded by like-minded people trying to get their work done but who also take surf breaks.
Is it worth it? We think so.
Coworkcation in New York?
If you’re reading this article and are not currently living in New York, we invite you to take a coworkcation with us. We don’t have surf lessons or excotic sunsets with palm trees, but New York is one of the most amazing cities (if not the most amazing city) in the world. Come work out of Work Better’s Hub on Park Avenue. The city never sleeps, so cowork during the day and sightsee on nights and weekends. Check out the Park Avenue S location.
