Why Flexible Work Policies Are Key for 2026 Success

Flexibility is a defining feature of modern-day working life. What started as a response to global disruption has evolved into a long-term strategy, and the centre of that shift in 2026 is the work-from-anywhere policy. This model gives employees the freedom to choose their location for a select period of their working time whilst remaining accountable to their role. 

For many companies with work-from-anywhere policy frameworks in place, the results go far beyond convenience. Such flexibility is often seen to strengthen remote work productivity, but in the longer term, work-from-anywhere benefits also allow employees to be exposed to new cultures and regions without being restricted to annual leave allowances. 

At ICS, 28% of employees worked a combined 352 days from abroad last year alone, utilising the work from abroad policy. Nearly 100 of those requests were driven by employees looking to return to their native countries for a period.

In this blog, we’ll explore real experiences from across our teams and look more closely at how work from anywhere improves production and engagement - and why such flexibility is shaping up to be a defining factor in business growth.

Q: Which country (or countries) did you choose for your working overseas experience in 2025? How many days did you spend abroad, and did you make the most of the 30-day allowance? 

Chloe Sunderland, Head of Client Success: “Italy, I only used 2 days of the working from abroad policy, so definitely didn't make the most of the 30-day allowance!”

Claire Wardill, Head of Commercial Operations: “I went to France for 2 weeks during the Easter holiday and then 3 weeks in August. I did use some annual leave while I was there, but probably used just short of the 30-day WFA allowance.”

Harriet Watling, Vendor Relations Executive: “I used mine to go and stay with my parents in France. I used 15 days last year, but I'm definitely hoping to make more use of it this year.”

Russell Courter, Translations Project Manager: “I spent 10 working days abroad in the US. I did not use all of my WFA days, as I started working for ICS in August.”

Alice Garside, Digital PR Executive: “I worked abroad a total of 18 days in Belgium and Italy, so I used most of the 30-day allowance.”

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Q: How did working overseas benefit you: personally, professionally, or both?

Claire Wardill: “It’s been life-changing for me. Being a foreigner living in England, it’s always seemed like a waste to use annual leave to visit family. Obviously, I love to go and see my parents and brothers, but it’s a bit of a shame to use annual leave to mostly spend my time in my childhood home! Being able to work from abroad has been brilliant, as I can now spend time with family while saving annual leave days. 

“Since my children have started school, it’s also given me the additional benefit of free childcare during the summer holiday. I usually fly to France and work there while my kids are being looked after by their grandparents. It’s been really wonderful for everybody and has allowed us to see each other more frequently/for longer periods of time.”

Harriet Watling: “It was really beneficial to have a change of scenery, my parents’ house is in the countryside, so it's always a nice break from being in the city.

“I went there over Christmas as well, so it allowed me to spend a lot more time with my family rather than having to squeeze all the travelling into my annual leave time off, and meant I didn't have to travel on the busiest weekends around Christmas!”

Russell Courter: “The WFA policy allowed me to go back home to America and spend the holiday with my family, whilst still supporting the projects we had. In terms of the business, it actually worked out quite well. I worked 10:00-18:00 GMT every day whilst abroad, so I could help with a lot of the influx of work that comes in at the end of the day, where colleagues who logged off at 4pm GMT could not.”

Q:  Any fun, memorable, or surprising moments you’d like to share from your time abroad?

Chloe Sunderland: “I went to Rome to see Ludovico Einaudi, a famous Italian composer who had been on my bucket list for a while. All of his UK dates had sold out, but there was loads of availability in Rome plus cheap flights, so I made a solo weekend of it. 

While I was there, I also did a moped sidecar tour around the city to see all the main sights, including the Colosseum, Pantheon and Spanish Steps, as well as visiting the Vatican and St Paul’s Basilica. No trip to Italy is complete without plenty of pizza, pasta, gelato and Aperol Spritz, so the rest of my time was spent wandering the streets and enjoying all of that. I also unexpectedly bumped into a friend while I was there, which was a pleasant surprise, so I got to share some of those moments with her too.”

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Claire Wardill: “A memorable one was Easter last year when we went to France for 2 weeks. My husband and I had got married the summer before, and as an extra, we’d booked a private showing of our wedding video in an old-school cinema. 

It was obviously quite tricky to fly over just to see the video, but being able to spend two weeks there meant we had time to go during the weekend, and then come back home to work. Definitely a memorable one that would have been much, much more difficult to organise without the WFA policy.”

Harriet Watling: “When I went over to France in autumn, we went to the nearby lake a couple of times and kayaked/paddleboarded, and we did a lot of cycling. We had a surprise snowstorm, which made my lunchtime walks a bit more interesting. 

I tended to take longer lunch breaks and finish later in the day, as my parents weren't working, so it meant we could go out for lunch or spend an hour at one of the local markets. This split up the day a bit, and meant that I felt a bit more like I was on holiday as well as working! When it's not winter, I definitely spend a lot more time outside than I would in Leeds.”

Alice Garside: “When working from abroad, I have the opportunity to see family, which is always a massive perk. I also get to do things like go for a morning swim in the sea before work or have my grandma’s home-cooked meal for lunch. Thanks to this flexible working policy, I’ve also been able to travel to Belgium for a friend’s wedding anniversary celebration! Having the possibility to travel, see family, and change the environment I work from helps me feel more motivated and grateful for the opportunities I have. When working from Italy, I also have the opportunity to reconnect with my roots and make the most of the beautiful place I call home.”

Russell Courter: “I spent the first week abroad with my family in Alabama celebrating Christmas. Most of my days after work consisted of family time, hiking, and having home-cooked meals from my grandmother. For my second week working abroad, I went to NYC to visit my friend from university. Luckily, NYC is in GMT-5, so I got an extra hour of sleep and logged in at a luxurious 05:00. After work, I would catch up with old friends, explore the city's culinary scene, and run as much as I could in -10 degrees. For New Year's Eve, I went out to a bar with friends and I called it quits at 00:30 so I could get at least 4 hours of sleep before work on New Year's Day!”

Q: Why do you think other businesses should consider offering a similar policy?

Chloe Sunderland: “Our senior leadership team makes use of this policy, which reinforces that ICS genuinely supports and encourages flexibility and that it's not just an official policy. It also normalises flexible working and in turn should hopefully encourage more people to do so. It makes ICS a more attractive place to work as it supports employee retention and long-term performance by enabling SLT to manage their time and energy, avoid burnout and show that work can be flexed around life rather than the other way around.”

Claire Wardill: “I think it’s a huge step forward for flexible working, beyond simply working from home. It gives people the opportunity to explore, travel more, get exposed to other cultures, and that can only be a good thing, in my opinion. It’s also fantastic for families – allowing them to experience being abroad, without sacrificing annual leave. 

Having looked into it, I initially thought the average family would need to use up all (or nearly all) of their annual leave entitlement to be able to cover children’s school holidays, but even combining two people’s entitlement would still not be enough! So actually being able to spend time as a family somewhere new while still working opens up a whole world of opportunities.”

Harriet Watling: “It's a great way to allow employees to make the most of hybrid working - being able to combine annual leave with working abroad just gives you a bit more flexibility and some extra evening/weekend time in a different place! It's also a great idea, particularly for companies that have a high number of international employees, as it means they can visit family and friends without having to exclusively use annual leave for it.”

Alice Garside: “Work-life balance is essential, and working abroad offers greater freedom and flexibility. Additionally, for those of us whose families reside abroad, this is a sure way to visit ageing grandparents/parents and keep friend/family connections alive.”

Russell Courter: “From onboarding, the policy was very clear and I had no misconceptions. Although the time difference seemed drastic, everyone on the team was very understanding and happy for me that I could go home! I do not think I would want to work somewhere without this policy,. It’s a great way to keep working while being able to try something new and take a break from your routine in the UK.”

In terms of the future for this policy, Abbey Calvert, People Operations Specialist, sees this as something that needs to constantly evolve. “Overall, I see this benefit as a testament to our flexibility, as true flexibility means acknowledging that life does not stop at the border. Since the COVID pandemic, work-life balance has shifted permanently, so we view this benefit as not only a perk but as a driver of trust and collaboration. 

“As we look to the future, I hope that the policy evolves by continuously expanding our ‘Green List’ of approved countries. Over the years, various countries have changed their visa requirements for UK travellers, so we could see this progress into more countries offering free or low-cost working-abroad options. With such changes, I expect this will start to become the norm for workplaces that support flexible working arrangements.” 

As an international digital marketing agency, we see firsthand the ripple effects of how shifting work patterns are changing business operations and consumer behaviour. The stories shared across our teams point to one clear takeaway - flexibility works when it’s done with purpose, shared accountability and outcome-focused goals.