It’s been over two years since the world has lived through a pandemic that forever impacted our way of life. The silver lining for Bench and many other businesses is that we had to take a forward leap into efficiently operating with a fully distributed team.
Fast forward to 2022, as Australia started to reopen its borders, many people in our team needed a longer than normal break to travel abroad and see family again. We this in mind we launched our Extended Time Away Program where any eligible Bencher can combine holidaying, reuniting with loved ones overseas and working remotely.
Enlo Wang is one of our Benchers who took part in the program. Before leaving, Enlo told us:
I’m super stoked! One of the main reasons I pursued a career in media/digital marketing was the potential to combine work with traveling as I’ve met some digital nomads in my previous trips and was thoroughly intrigued by their lifestyles. Having this opportunity actually feels like a huge milestone for me.
After 5 weeks away in Thailand, Enlo is back in Sydney and told us more about his experience:
For 3 weeks, I was holidaying and then I settled in the island of Koh Phangan to work remotely. What I liked the most was being able to experience the lifestyle of the country after my day of work as opposed to simply holidaying. It’s an amazing community there. I set up in a coworking space with an amazing view.
The time difference between Sydney and where I was working from was only 3 hours so I was working 9 to 5.30 local time, which overlapped with Sydney afternoons. It felt very seamless. I had daily communication with my manager so we could establish priorities and be transparent about what I was working on and what was needed. It worked great.
Enlo’s setup in Kho Phangan with the ocean views looks fantastic.