A young woman warned Australians not to sneak work from Bali after dancers at her hotel interrupted her friend’s “super important” meeting.
Montana, who posted a video of the disruptive dance on TikTok, described the spontaneous celebration as “the one thing” Australian workers need to know if they plan to “work from home” overseas.
Many Australians have been moving to Bali for extended stays and working their office jobs from glamorous villas or on the beach, with some not telling their bosses first.
Montana, a journalist and social media expert, has been working remotely for two years, gladly swapping the daily routine for a life in paradise.
‘I used to live and work on the Gold Coast, I’d wake up, go to the gym, go to work, come home, have dinner and go to bed. Every day,’ he said.
“Now I know there is more to life and we don’t have to be tied to that, I don’t see myself living like that anymore.”
The 29-year-old says she has never been happier or had a better lifestyle than now, where she works from her laptop on the beach or at a local cafe.
“We wake up, go to the beach, have coffee with friends, work at a coffee shop, take a Pilates class, work for a while and then go watch the sunset with a friend,” he said.
A young woman has warned Australians not to sneak work from Bali after Balinese dancers at her hotel interrupted her friend’s “super important” meeting.
He currently works from Bali and doesn’t understand why workplaces are so keen to get everyone back into the office routine. She says she has never been happier or more productive.
Working remotely has its downsides: You have to give up control of your environment, as a friend from Montana discovered when this Balinese dance started at the same time as an important meeting.
‘Now I work more, and better, because I can do it on my terms. My imagination works best and I know that if I do the job quickly and well I will be able to go to the beach or do something fun.’
Montana’s work on the Bali lifestyle rose to prominence after she filmed her British friend’s ill-timed meeting.
‘My friend was working remotely from Bali and had just logged on to give this very important presentation she had been preparing for weeks. At the same time, this Balinese dance show started in front of our door,” he said in a video.
“I’m howling, it’s so loud and it’s so obvious she’s not in London right now.”
A week later, still amused, the young woman explained that her friend’s bosses knew she was working abroad, but not all interested parties at the meeting knew.
“He kept a straight face the whole time,” Montana recalled, laughing.
“He then said that his laptop is designed for people working from abroad, so the others in the meeting didn’t hear anything thanks to the good sound masking.”
The Balinese performance included lots of shouting, banging and bells as they paraded around the venue.
The couple had planned their day by returning to the hotel room for the big meeting.
The young woman says that living in your favorite vacation destination gives you the chance to prioritize life over the 9 to 5 routine.
“That’s the one thing people who want to work from a vacation destination need to know: You can’t control the environment,” he said.
“I know a lot of people who have been surprised by background noise in meetings.”
Montana spent time on Gili T recently and said the call to prayer was distracting to some of his fellow nomads.
The story prompted many to also share their own “working from home from abroad” stories.
“I wanted to work from Bangkok, but when I got there my IP was detected and I was blocked from Outlook,” said one expat.
“I almost got fired when my boss found out I was attending a meeting at a beach club bar in Malaga, Spain,” another woman added.
“I once received a call from inside the Colosseum in Rome, I didn’t want to cancel the day trip because of a single call,” one more recalled.
Montana said he was surprised by the number of people doing their “big jobs” remotely.
‘I know CEOs, lawyers and managers who work in Bali; some of them even have families here with them. “They just want the lifestyle,” he said.
And she is right: many senior leaders share their own examples with her.
Now he works in cafes, bars and beaches.
“I once defended a statement from the hotel pool in Cabo,” said one.
‘I’m a stenographer and I’ve done it from an Airbnb,’ said another.
“I work in aviation as flight support, which is remote,” one woman wrote.
Others were “furious” at the women for living abroad and working online.
“This is exactly the behavior that is ruining working from home for the rest of us,” one fumed.
‘There is a difference between working from home and working remotely. A lot of legal and insurance things change when you change countries,” said another.
Montana says her friend stared at her once she finished her call and they both burst out laughing.
‘I was laughing out loud. I said “girl, I don’t know how you kept a straight face.” “She was just relieved, the meeting went well,” he said.
The young woman plans to work remotely for at least five more years and doesn’t understand why so many companies are cracking down on it.
“Honestly, I don’t want to be rude, but the world is changing and they should change or be left behind,” she said.
‘Staff happiness increases productivity and creativity. If Covid taught us anything it’s that life is short and most of us can work remotely.’
His life used to be very ‘eat, sleep, work, repeat’. But now every day is peppered with fun activities, socializing, and work.
Montana says the cost of living in Bali is similar for her to the Gold Coast, but the quality of her life is much higher.
“We shouldn’t be stuck in an office, we can do anything anywhere; when you live the life you want, you are much more creative and effective,” he said.
Working from home has been a hot topic lately, and Australians who continue to do so risk jeopardizing their tax return if they don’t keep a diary of their allotted hours.
H&R Block tax communications director Mark Chapman said the Australian Taxation Office is likely to demand proof that someone worked from home during the last financial year.
“We expect the ATO to check the claims thoroughly, in particular to check whether taxpayers have a record of all their hours of working from home throughout the tax year, in the form of timesheets, a diary or a copy of the lists job,” he told the Daily Mail. Australia.
New rules went into effect in March 2023 requiring professionals who work from home to keep a journal of every hour worked at home to claim the flat rate of 67 cents per hour on their tax return.
That would make 2023-24 the first full financial year in which time worked from home would need to be recorded.
“If you do not keep a record of all the work hours you spent at home from July 1 to June 30, that is, for the entire tax year, you will not be entitled to claim the flat rate of 67 cents per hour” said Mr. Chapman.
The flat rate method is much simpler than itemizing all the expenses related to working from home.
“Taxpayers generally prefer this method because, apart from the requirement to keep a record of all hours worked, the documentation requirements are much less stringent,” Mr Chapman said.
“The ATO believes claims for work-related expenses are the largest element of that ‘tax gap’ and have signaled they will look closely at these deductions this year,” he said.