"I worked for 4 days straight during a 5-day stay, but why do the employees want to go again?"
"Workation? Isn’t that just a way to play at the company’s expense?"
There is a startup that answers this question with a firm "No".
We met with CEO Jang Ji-woong of 'TEUIDA', a foreign language education app service that is shaking up the global market.
We share the story of how TEUIDA transformed the joy of turning a profit into intense focused work during their workation.
[Customer Profile]
🏢 Company Name : TEUIDA
💼 Company Classification : Startup (Foreign Language Education App Service)
👥 Target Number of People : About 20 people
✅ Purpose of Operation : Company-wide alignment, goal setting, teamwork enhancement, focused work
Q1. You chose a workation to celebrate transitioning to profit.
Normally, bonuses or dinners are held, but was there a special reason for pursuing a workation? 🤔
CEO Jang Ji-woong: In 2024, after successfully securing investment, I thought about how to refresh and reward my employees.
Beyond simple monetary compensation, I wanted to gift my hardworking team members with "new stimuli that a different space provides".
Previously, I heard from a CEO that "talking with employees in a different location changes not just the space but also the thoughts and creativity".
Like the saying "space shapes attitude," I was convinced that escaping from our familiar office to an open environment to envision our team's future would become a greater asset for our team.
During the 4-night 5-day stay, the 'company-wide alignment' we achieved was more valuable than any reward.
As a result, the team members realized once again, "Why are we doing this work?" ✨
Q2. What was the deciding factor for choosing 'DearMonday' as a partner among workation platforms?
CEO Jang Ji-woong: Startups must satisfy both 'cost-effectiveness' and 'efficiency'. DearMonday was already collaborating with reputable institutions like the Korea Tourism Organization, which added to their trustworthiness,
and most importantly, their 'diverse location infrastructure' was highly appealing.
To continually establish a workation culture,
we need to offer employees new excitement each time, and DearMonday offers Gangneung, Jeju, and many other attractive options, which made us judge them as a suitable long-term partner for our team.
Q3. Many have doubts about "Do you really work during a workation?" What was the actual work efficiency of TEUIDA?
CEO Jang Ji-woong: During our time, we dedicated nearly all hours to focused work except for one day.
The surprising part was our work efficiency. Discussions that would normally take 2 weeks in the office reached conclusions in just 3 days.
Thanks to the liberation provided by physical distance, our thinking became more flexible, making feedback flow more healthily than usual.📈
Q4. What was the most satisfying aspect of using the actual office facilities?
CEO Jang Ji-woong: As soon as the employees entered the office, the first thing they admired was the 'high-end office chairs'.
Expensive equipment worth 2-3 million won was set up at every seat, allowing for less fatigue during long hours of work.
Additionally, each seat was provided with a monitor ensuring the continuity of tasks for team members engaged in video editing and development work.
Without professional office infrastructure, it would be no different from simple cafe work, but DearMonday was differentiated as a 'space to achieve real results'. 💺💻
[DearMonday Jeju Sonocam Branch/ Office View]
Q5. What changes has the workation experience brought to the organization?
CEO Jang Ji-woong: Just by opening the door and stepping out, it instantly became a shared workspace, allowing us to comfortably discuss work anytime. Our purpose was to 'work deeply and come back', so it fit perfectly.
During the 4-night 5-day stay, we only played for one day, while the rest was all work. However, as a result, we unified everything that needed to be unified upon our return. Employee satisfaction was also very high. At that time, the conversation was, "Let’s go on a workation the last week of January to set our goals for next year and align them, and then let's check how much of our plan for the past six months we accomplished in July."
The discussion of going regularly twice a year emerged naturally among the employees.
Q6. Were there any difficulties in preparing for the workation?
CEO Jang Ji-woong: Internally, the biggest hurdle was "What will we do during the workation?"
Workation is not just going on a trip; there must be 'work' involved. We all went with the company's budget and time, and I felt an obligation to bring back outputs that we couldn't achieve in the office.
For this workation, we made our goals so well in advance that there wasn't much to do once we got there. 😂
Employees worked so hard to prepare that after their presentations, everything was over before the first day ended.
The employees suggested, "Wouldn’t it have been better to do a hackathon?"
They expressed a desire to split into three teams and vigorously explore "how to increase revenue" during a 2-day overnight event.
So, we've decided to go again in June.
Q7. If you could give one piece of advice to HR personnel or CEOs of other companies considering a workation?
CEO Jang Ji-woong: A workation should be seen not as 'welfare expenditure' but as an 'investment for growth'.
To achieve this, you need to design objectives sharply. Instead of saying, "Let’s go to refresh ourselves," specify that "We will solve this specific problem when we go" to set a clear agenda.
And choose a professional partner who can perfectly support that purpose.
From equipment to ambiance, if you choose DearMonday, optimized for work immersion,
you'll capture both employee loyalty and tangible results.
[Outro]
Through the interview with CEO Jang Ji-woong, we could confirm how powerfully a well-designed workation can provide momentum to an organization.
If you want to go beyond simple relaxation and elevate your team’s 'density', start your immersion journey with DearMonday right now.
💡
"If our team wants to be immersed just like TEUIDA?"