2 May 2022

TUI WORKWIDE France – Rikke Westergaard

As a global travel group, TUI wants to enable its employees to work abroad from time to time. The pandemic in particular has shown that flexible working is possible. For this reason, TUI WORKWIDE was launched in 2021. Colleagues can work abroad for up to 30 days a year to have a healthy work-life balance. This balance is important for a fulfilling career and overall personal well-being.

Rikke Westergaard is a Senior Sales Manager for TUI Denmark and TUI Norway. Recently, she used TUI WORKWIDE to spend two weeks in France, combining work with exercise and sightseeing.

Here is her story

“What better way of topping up your Vitamin D than by taking some time to work in a sunny climate? Less than a year ago this wouldn’t have been possible, not because of Covid travel restrictions but because we were restricted in where we could work.

When TUI WORKWIDE was launched I realised I could extend my horizons and work from another country equally as well as I could work from home, so I took the opportunity to fly to France to work, and to get a vitamin boost and change of surroundings at the same time.

I chose my location as I had been there before so knew the Wi-Fi and internet in the apartment was good enough for video meetings and that there were plenty of cosy cafes in the area where I could work and, of course, enjoy the atmosphere, culture, coffees and croissants! Through TUI WORKWIDE, I was able to get my work done, enjoy the sun and spend so much more time outside than I would have done in Copenhagen. And, of course, I was able to take advantage my two weekends off to relax and go sightseeing in the south of France!

Taking a week or two several times during the year with TUI WORKWIDE is definitely something I would recommend to my colleagues as I think it gives you a different perspective to both culture and travel, as well as new inspiration to look at things with fresh eyes. For me, it also gave more time for reflection and a great vitamin boost.

Having returned from my TUI WORKWIDE trip and, with Covid restrictions easing, I have really enjoyed coming back to the Copenhagen workspace and interacting face to face with our Danish team, especially the “coffee machine talks” you do not get when you’re working from home or elsewhere.

If I were advising colleagues who were thinking about planning a TUI WORKWIDE trip I would simply say “my experience was great so just do it”! But I would also advise that they check they will have a good internet connection and especially that they have somewhere quiet to work as necessary. For me it was great that I had extra data on my phone so I could do Walk & Talks as well as connect my laptop to it when, occasionally, the internet at cafes failed.

In summary, I would say this was a wonderful and valuable time and I’m sure of one thing – I will soon do this again.”