Insight
Camper van life: one year on
Last year, our account director went viral when she posted a picture of her camper van office set-up – on the driveway of her parents’ house!
When the UK went into its first lockdown in March 2020, Chloe moved in with her parents and created a working office space in her parents Volkswagen Calypso. After posting a picture of the space on LinkedIn, the post went viral in just a few hours and reached almost 900,000 people.
Chloe received messages from across the world with people sharing their own work from home experience, which helped to create a virtual sense of community in what was a very strange and worrying time.
It was only after 2 weeks that Chloe’s LinkedIn profile began to calm down – but the fun didn’t stop there. A correspondent from the BBC got in touch requesting an interview which was later broadcasted on regional, national and world news.
One year on – where is Chloe now?
In July 2020, Chloe moved back into her flat but decided to put it on the market and moved to a house with a garden In November 2020. She then welcomed Minnie – the toy poodle – into her life and has never looked back.
In what was a very strange time for the world, the camper van saga helped to lift spirits and created a much needed feel good story.
What did we learn as a business?
As a business, it didn’t matter where we worked – as long as we continued to communicate, work hard and look after each other. Five-day weeks in the office might be over but we’re truly embracing the added flexibility that this brings. In terms of the pandemic, we’re not at the end of the journey yet – but we’re ready to face what’s on the horizon.
Here’s what Chloe had to say on the pros and cons of working in a camper van…
Pros:
- It was a tranquil space and sometimes felt as though I was on holiday!
- I became much more productive and was able to concentrate better than I did in a busy office environment
- I believed in my capabilities more which empowered me to make difficult decisions and back them
- A great talking point and icebreaker for new business meetings, pitches and client calls
Cons:
- It felt as though I was on holiday!
- Check the weather – a hailstorm during a Zoom call is not ideal…
- I learnt a lot about my parents’ neighbours habits and routines.. – good or bad?! Who knows!