Bjarke Paulin Beske has been with Curit since 2018, and in the autumn of 2023, he and his girlfriend quit their apartment and packed their bags to move to Spain. Before that, he had made an agreement with Curit that gave him the opportunity to fulfil his dream of living and working abroad for a period of time. Curit's motivation was that Bjarke is a highly valued employee who over the years has shown the ability to work skilfully and independently. ”Retaining good employees is essential to us, so when we can increase employee satisfaction simply through flexibility, openness and innovation and without much risk, there is no reason to hesitate.”, says CEO Aase Steffensen.Longing and the desire for new adventures
”The main reason for wanting to live abroad for a period of time was that I have lived most of my life in Horsens, with a small detour to Aarhus when I went to university. So I had reached the point where I wanted to try to experience a different culture for a longer period of time than just a holiday ”, explains Bjarke.
When Bjarke started thinking about studying abroad, it wasn't the format that was important. It wasn't the idea of new professional challenges that was the focal point of the study abroad programme. For Bjarke and his girlfriend, it was about getting out and challenging themselves in a new country and a new culture.
The workplace and remote working
Bjarke's intention has always been to continue working at Curit. It was therefore a great relief when Curit showed understanding and support so that Bjarke and his girlfriend could fulfil their wish for a stay abroad. According to Bjarke, both management and project managers at Curit were exemplary in accepting the request. Various opportunities to work on projects with IFS customers around Europe were explored. But it turned out that what mattered most was the personal desire to decide where to live out the adventure.
”I really wanted to continue with professional challenges, but in this context it had to come second. From the perspective that it was a joint decision my boyfriend and I had made, it was also what made the most sense for us. Where is it that we want to settle down, where is it that we can see that we get the full experience?”, Bjarke explains.
The challenges
Working remotely can be a challenge for many, especially for those with a strong social gene. In the office, it was important to maintain focus on the fact that Bjarke was still an asset, even if he wasn't sitting in his usual spot. Bjarke needed to be visible to the extent possible when physically located elsewhere.
Bjarke elaborates: ”From the beginning, my biggest concern about working remotely was that I would simply become too isolated and miss the daily interactions. I love coming to the office in Vejle and I'm a very sociable person.”.
However, it soon turned out that this wasn't a problem once Bjarke started working in Spain. Both he and his colleagues were very good at keeping each other up to speed on the new way of working. One of the things that kept motivation and morale high was that both parties made an effort to organise so that there was always plenty to do.
The good advice
Depending on your job function, it requires planning from both the employee travelling and the employer. Therefore, Bjarke has a clear recommendation that if you are considering travelling abroad to work remotely, you should plan well in advance.
This gives your employer time to assess what it will mean for the individual employee and the workplace. If there are tasks that will be difficult to perform remotely, these can be passed on to others for a period of time. However, this was not the case here and all tasks could continue to be handled by Bjarke from Spain.
As mentioned earlier, the thought of losing connection with customers and colleagues was the biggest challenge for Bjarke, so his second piece of advice is to switch on the camera when you have online meetings.
”It may seem like a small thing, but for me it made a big difference.”, Bjarke explains.
All in all, we can only recommend it from both the employer's and employee's side if you have a dream of living and working abroad for a period of time.