Work Your World: Surf's Up in Costa Rica
Written by: Erin Mansour (she/her) and Daniela Perez (she/her)
Work Your World (WYW), launched in 2022, is an offering provided by Publicis Groupe that allows every Groupe employee to work from any accessible country where a Groupe office is present, for up to 6 weeks a year. With the goal of empowering employees to see local and global destinations and connect with employees in different countries, RFHers are packing their bags and heading off to explore everything the world and its people have to offer.
Aligned to our people-first, people-strong working philosophy, we encourage our employees to pursue their passions inside and outside of work. Whether it’s Parisian pastries or sand between one’s toes, we understand that the happiest people are also the most motivated, inspired, and collaborative.
Most recently, two of our Chicago-based Account Supervisors, Erin Mansour (she/her) and Daniela Perez (she/her), made their way to Costa Rica—a beautiful country in Central America known for its beaches, volcanoes, and biodiversity. The two spent 4 weeks—away from the frigid Chicago winter—lounging in 80-degree weather and enjoying everything Costa Rica has to offer … all while balancing their 9-to-5’s.
Hear from Erin and Daniela as they talk about their experience living, working, and traversing in the beautiful country of Costa Rica.
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What is a day-in-the-life like working with your teams while you were in a different country? Life was seamless while working in Costa Rica! Sticking to the same time zone was a huge help in keeping normal hours and meeting times with our teams. A bonus was having a much more realistic tropical Zoom background!
How did working in a different environment and culture change your perspective on your day-to-day work? And your personal life? Working in a unique and new environment inspired better work–life balance and encouraged us to make time in the day for ourselves, in addition to getting our day-to-day work done. Whether it was a sunrise surf or a sunset walk, incorporating these meaningful moments and being intentional with our time refreshed us. We were ultimately better and more present colleagues throughout the day. It’s also a bonus having something to look forward to after a day of meetings!
What is a misconception people might have about WYW? At first, the idea of WYW seemed daunting. People think that WYW is hard to plan and costly. For us, picking a city with affordable living costs and utilizing long-term Airbnb services helped us save on the cost of living. Also, finding someone to travel with helped minimize individual expenses and made researching and planning easier and more enjoyable. We had a group of four, 2 RFH employees and 2 friends, which enabled us to split living costs, divvy up expenses, and delegate assignments like finding the best beach to surf at.
If you could share 1 tip to someone who is planning to WYW, what would it be? Consider time zones! With WYW, we are still responsible for working the same time zones as our teams and clients. Staying in Central Time helped ensure that our bodies could quickly adjust in a new environment and made it so that we were not joining client calls in the middle of the night. Being able to also enjoy the country you’re in, at the same time as the locals, will make for a better experience overall. Also, confirm that wherever you are staying as strong Wi-Fi!
What would you do differently about your WYW experience? We wish we would have gone a full 6 weeks! At 4 weeks, we were just starting to get the hang of local living and would have loved a couple of extra weeks to fully immerse ourselves in a new culture and “live like a local.” Erin also wishes she had learned more Spanish before leaving, so she didn’t have to rely on Daniela as often. 😊
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If you are interested in joining the RFH team, check out our open roles. We know you are not your resume; we understand you are not your work, and we respect that you are so much more than a job description. You are you. So come be you and do you with us.