'A Day in the Life': EGI On The Road

Many EGI staff members would say that one of the best parts of working here is the remote work. Gone are the days when we were expected to show up five days a week to an office; instead, we get to work from the comfort of our own homes (at least) 3 days a week.

But as comfortable as it is to take meetings in a business-casual top paired with pajama pants, all while the kids scream frantically from the other room and your lunch is burning on the stove, there comes a time when almost every EGI staff member must leave their home. Whether it’s for a conference, to onboard a new team member, or to have a face-to-face project meeting (so only for strictly essential trips to reduce our carbon emissions, of course!), eventually, we have to swap the sweatpants for some trousers and get out of the house.

For some, travelling for work is one of the most exciting parts of the job. After all, when else do you get to explore new places and experience different cultures as part of your day job? For others, it might be the absolute bane of their existence, having to spend hours of their day being stuck in a train because of Deutsche Bahn delays or eventually missing their flight while waiting in line at our lovely Schiphol.

So, we sat down with five of our frequent travellers to get the unfiltered truth about what it’s really like to travel for EGI.

As expected, EGI members travel a lot, averaging anywhere from four times a year to twice a month. While business trips can easily blur together because meeting rooms look identical everywhere, our team still appreciates the change of scenery as a brain-refresher and a great way to turn long-distance project partners into genuine friends. Many love heading to our headquarters in Amsterdam to catch up with colleagues. Others prefer to chase the climate—migrating south in the winter and north in the summer—while some enjoy visiting unexpected spots like Rio de Janeiro and Faro, or even leaving Europe entirely to refresh their perspectives. However, it isn't always as glamorous as it sounds. The biggest difficulty remains managing family logistics; balancing a multi-day trip while managing a household (with or without young children) can be a puzzle, and it's never easy to be the temporarily absent parent, friend, or child.

When it comes to packing, the general consensus is hand luggage for short trips and check-in for longer hauls. EGI staff are a mix of meticulous planners and last-minute packers—not out of procrastinative tendencies, but because family life requires them to adapt and change plans on the fly. As for luggage essentials, the team has some highly specific, must-have items: SmartTags for tracking down lost bags, running gear for early morning workouts, and comfort items like a travel steam iron and cozy slippers to make any hotel feel like home. Of course, no one leaves without becoming a ‘walking EGI billboard,’ packing a full collection of project goodies.

Naturally, no travel diary is complete without a few wild stories. While every trip to Italy is amazing for the cuisine, it can also lead to a hotel from hell. One teammate arrived in Bologna at 02:00 AM to find a broken water system, leaving their room heating locked at a sweltering +40°C while the shower was a freezing <10°C. Other times, the chaos takes the form of a transatlantic mix-up, like missing a flight from Washington to New York simply because you assumed you were on the same flight as your colleague, only to realize your departures were 20 minutes apart (fortunately, the airline rebooked it free of charge for our colleague!).

But the road also brings miracles of human kindness, like the time a colleague lost their passport in Japan, only for a stranger to literally run up and down the street calling out “passport, passport!” until they tracked them down in the middle of the hustle and bustle of Kyoto.

All in all, life on the road adds a lot of color to our lives. It’s exciting, and a bit of a hassle, but like Anthony Bourdain said: “Travel isn’t always pretty. It isn’t always comfortable. Sometimes it hurts, it even breaks your heart. But that’s okay. The journey changes you; it should change you. It leaves marks on your memory, on your consciousness, on your heart, and on your body. You take something with you. Hopefully, you leave something good behind.”

Safe travels on your next trip, EGI team!