‘Work From Anywhere’: How Envato Empowers Employees with Flexible Work

Flexible work has always been at the heart of Envato’s culture. Going beyond the typical “work-life” balance, Envato strives to empower its people to build a life they love by enabling them to choose where they work and how via ‘Working From Anywhere’. The Work From Anywhere benefit allows employees to choose to relocate from their home base for up to three months of every year and set up a remote office from a hotel, cafe, or family home.

As a result, Envato attracts truly diverse and globally minded talent from all over the world, including the USA, Mexico, the UK, Europe, and beyond. We have many people working in Australia and New Zealand, for example, who love working for Envato because they can still get back to see family and friends–or travel the country and world–while working as they do so.

Envato’s ‘Work From Anywhere’ benefit is a fun facet of our flexible work environment, enabling employees to work from anywhere worldwide for up to three months of every calendar year. It enables employees to: 

There’s no doubt that Working From Anywhere offers a wide array of perks and benefits to Envato employees. We chatted to some team members working abroad to hear about their travels, the flexible benefits work affords them, and what they love most about Working From Anywhere. 

The best thing about working from Sweden (aside from the fact I could be there for my brother-in-law’s wedding) was that it was light from 3 am – which made getting up for 7 am meetings easy. The view from my office wasn’t bad either!

I was able to work from Sweden (and ultimately, Europe) for my brother-in-law’s wedding and make a trip out of it. This was really important to me – when you fly to the other side of the world with young kids, you need to make it worth it (for the carbon miles, jet lag, and the time it takes for kids to adjust to a new place).

Working from Brazil allowed me to reconnect with my family and friends after more than two years of isolation due to Covid. I was also able to be there to support my family during a medical procedure.

It’s given me a better work-life balance – not having to worry about commuting every day has allowed me to spend more time with family. Not working from an office has also led to increased productivity and focus. 

Having async discussions with my team on Slack helps me to optimize my time and increase productivity. Having informal catch-ups with my peers also improves relationships with them.

I visited my family in Argentina and my partner Jamie’s family in the USA. In Argentina, we spent a lot of time with friends and family, had many barbecues, and took beach vacations with my family. We then took a trip to the north of Argentina with Jamie and my brother. In the US, I met Jamie’s nephews, dad, and other family members for the first time and visited New York before flying back to Australia. The best benefit that Working From Anywhere afforded me was being able to spend valuable time with family and friends.

Visiting my family every year makes working and living abroad much more manageable. After living in my home country, I returned to Australia with more energy and motivation.

My team is spread around the world. We run team meetings on Australian time; however, some smaller meetings are held in other time zones. It’s sometimes challenging – we always need to be open to having meetings late at night or early morning – but it’s worth it. 

Finding comfortable accommodation and setting up a good workspace is also essential.

I’m currently working in London after three years of being unable to go home due to Covid. As dull as it may sound, the best part of being here is just being back. It’s living the small, daily acts of life with the people I love – and lots and lots of catching up after so long apart. In contrast, other WFA trips have been jam-packed with European travel and AirBnB hopping, which comes with various other benefits – such as travel and adventure.

As an expatriate, working from anywhere has one significant benefit: it’s bridged the gap between Australia and England, allowing me to continue life on the other side of the world while maintaining genuine relationships with my family and friends at home. It’s an ex-pat’s dream.

It means I can spend quality time at home, seeing family and friends, while not using all my annual leave. It also means that I can live a summer-to-summer lifestyle, which is a big bonus.

I was one of the first people to trial working from anywhere with Envato, and I can’t guarantee that without it, I’d have easily maintained a split life between Australia and England. It means I can continue all the things I love: living in two places while having a career I enjoy that supports my flexible travel needs. It’s taken away significant stress in choosing to build a life here or overseas.

Each trip I do evolves from the last. This year, calendar management has been my focus. I work early morning in the UK to catch the Australian afternoon, meaning 4.30 am rises are frequent, and early evenings the night before are required. Because of this, I’ve dropped down to a four day week, taking every Monday off as annual leave so I can fully enjoy my Sunday nights.

I’ve also had to be ruthless with the meetings I keep. Maintaining a connection with my direct reports is my priority. I need to allocate enough time to provide adequate support and ensure they have the confidence to cover any broader meetings I can’t make due to time zone differences.

Working from Denmark for four months of the year means I can stay and work in Australia without drifting from the people I care about. They get me almost half the time!

I officiated a wedding in the Mediterranean, caught up with my girlfriend in Scotland, and visited my hometown on one big Euro trip. It’s been glorious.

Working for Envato has given me the keys to an outstanding work-life balance. WFA has made it possible to make room for work when I’m in the best place, rather than a stagnant and boring 9-5. I firmly believe this has positively affected my work output.

Trading Melbourne’s winter for a European summer has been amazing! I reunited with family and friends who live abroad that I hadn’t been able to see in years and was able to shake up the day-to-day after two years of working from home. 

It also made me more productive. Working From Anywhere encourages me to prioritize and be more efficient – I’m yet to catch myself watching the clock. I can also travel to new places on the weekends and work from anywhere!

I feel refreshed and grateful. After two years of lockdowns, I’ve been able to combine holidaying and attending a close friend’s wedding in France with working from the UK. 

When working from a different timezone, I’d suggest scheduling Slacks – there’s no need to wake up your colleagues in the middle of the night! 

I also have a shared calendar with my availability to make it easy to book meetings. I also start early in the morning to catch the afternoon of Melbourne folks, so good coffee and afternoon naps are a must. My four-day work week also allows me some extra rest to recover from the early starts and enables me to travel more over the weekends. 

Whether Envato employees are working from home in the heart of Melbourne or Mexico, from a beach in beautiful Barcelona, or from a bustling cafe in Berlin, there’s no doubt that flexible work can be hugely beneficial for everyone’s personal and professional life. To learn more about the Envato employee experience, check out these articles on flexible work and parental leave.