Our Workation- Bonding Beyond Work-Life

The Idea of ‘Workation’

It all started with a conversation where Siddharth and Rohan were talking about how, due to the work-from-home scenario, team Monsoonfish hadn’t gotten a chance to get to know each other and enjoy working in the office environment. This conversation led to an idea of planning a ‘workation’. Well, workation means work + vacation, which is a newly discovered trend these days where people travel to different places and work remotely. Rohan said, “let’s get everyone to Goa and make this workation happen!”

And thus the planning of this trip began! Rohan took the lead, started looking for places in Goa and planning the itinerary.

When Rohan shared this idea with the team, everyone was extremely thrilled and ready to travel from their hometowns (situated in different states) to Goa.

The itinerary however, had a mandatory event planned- a ‘self-story presentation’. The aim of this workation was to not only know each other professionally but also beyond professional boundaries. And what’s better than hearing each one’s life stories, likes, dislikes and personality in general, in the form of a presentation?

One of our teammates- Saloni’s thoughts on this were, “I‘m going to make a detailed and awesome presentation about myself and I’m going to be all prepared for this!!”

Everyone was pumped, and were set to spend a week long workation with a mixed bunch of people whom most of us had interacted only via google meets, calls and WhatsApp!

Breaking the Ice, Team-Building and Much More

We were a team of 35-40 people, reached Goa, started working (and chilling together) . Our resort was literally located on the beach, so we would start our day with a quick breakfast, a short stroll on the beach and then getting to our tables with our respective teammates.

Rohan was making sure everyone gets to work on time everyday, “Guys, wake your teammates and roommates up, we can’t be late everyday for our stand-up meeting!”.

The concept of workation has many benefits, and we also gradually started realizing the value of ‘physically working together’:

• Project related hiccups and problems were being solved instantly as the whole team was physically present together in one place.
• Teamwork led to good progress in the projects.
• Having every meal together and getting to interact with so many varied personalities was a totally different experience.

A Few Tips on What Can be Done on a Workation

Workations are fun and working in a completely different setting, close to nature can be beautiful but also distracting. Well, to avoid yourself and your team from getting distracting and working efficiently on such trips, here are a few things you can follow:

• Make a schedule and work target before going on such a trip, so that you have a work goal to meet during these days.
• To avoid getting distracted, grab a place to set your work desk which is a bit away from the crowd but not very far so that you can reach your teammates easily and vice-versa.
• Before starting your day, make a list of deliverables that you need to fulfill for that particular day so that you’re aware of your tasks.
• We all want to enjoy and have fun on such trips, however, make sure that the next day doesn’t get affected and you start your day on time.
• Plan team-building activities and tasks which can help to know your workmates better and get-along beyond professional boundaries.
• Include a day or two with no work, so that you can plan outings and fun activities with your teammates.

Those were a few aspects which we ensured to follow during this workstation and acted very well on them.

Let’s take you back to some other great moments and memories of Monsoonfish’s trip.

A Bond Created Beyond This Workation

Everyday after our work hours, we had a few people walk us through their presentations where they would narrate all kinds of life experiences- achievements, their fears, ups and downs, and what not!

Rahul, one of our teammates said, “I’m a very shy person, and an introvert, but after this presentation, I feel I can talk to you all about anything! It’s a great feeling!”.

This format of knowing each other felt so exceptional that it- not only broke the ice but also made each one realise how this agency culture was so open and approachable.

Shravani shared her thoughts about this agency culture where she rightly said, “Monsoonfish chooses their teammates very carefully, as it’s not just about having the right skills, well that can be taught. However, for us here it is important what kind of a person you are and how your true personality is. That’s what matters the most even as a team to work together!”

‘Working together in a new location, knowing each other beyond calls, breaking the monotony of working from home, all combined together is the real joy of workations!

The presentations would end with dinner, drinks, long conversations, games and more! There was also a hackathon conducted to collaborate with each other within a limited time span and to deliver an efficient product. This hackathon’s experience was very rewarding for our designers and for their overall growth in social, professional and creative aspects!

Apart from working, we went to spot dolphins, set out kayaking, and tried to cover all the exciting activities near-by.

Looking Forward to Our Next Trip!

Our trip ended with a party as one of our teammates is also a DJ! All in all, a workation is a great idea to break the monotony of working from home and bonding with your teammates. Everyone assembled as a team in Goa, but the kind of memories we made after spending a week together, we came back as a family, the Monsoonfish family!