Peyton Palazzo, Senior Associate, Programmatic
Bonjour from the South of France!
When I first joined PHM, I knew I was interested in the Work Your World Program, a unique benefit where Publicis Groupe employees can work abroad for up to six weeks each year. The idea of working from another country for a month and a half felt like a rare opportunity to experience somewhere entirely new while continuing to do the work I love.
Coming from the hustle and bustle of Philadelphia, I craved living somewhere with a slower pace, ideally by the ocean with sunnier skies and, obviously, within reach of the occasional gelato run. With all these components in mind, I settled on traveling to Nice, France for my trip.
When I landed in Nice, I immediately noticed the beauty of what would be our new home for the next six weeks. To this day, I have never seen water so blue! The city promenade that bordered the Mediterranean Sea quickly became my new running trail, and a visit to the local market on the water became my weekly ritual. Surprisingly, it didn’t take long for me to adjust to this new norm. To best collaborate with teammates back home, I started my workday at 3 p.m. European time, which made the mornings an unexpected luxury. I quickly learned to become a “morning person,” filling the first half of the day with everything I had come to France to experience: running along the coast, exploring the city, finding new places for lunch and spending time at the beach. One morning, I even fit in a snorkeling excursion before work! As I made the most of everything France had to offer, it began to feel as though I was living two days in one. By the time I opened my laptop in the afternoon, I felt refreshed and ready to start the workday, connect with my team and continue to do meaningful work for clients—all from a setting very different from home.
With the train station conveniently nearby, I explored the towns and cities along the coast on weekends, each with its own distinct character. I wandered through the winding streets of Èze, a picturesque village perched above the Mediterranean, experienced the glamour of Monaco and spent time in the more relaxed, community-oriented town of Antibes. Toward the end of my stay, I even visited Cap-d’Ail, a small beach town just outside Nice, to have lunch with other PHMers who were embarking on their own Work Your World journeys.
Eventually, my travels took me farther from the coast. In Chamonix, I traded the ocean for the Alps, hiking through breathtaking mountains near the Swiss border and discovering, much to my surprise, snow-capped peaks even in June! During a long holiday weekend, I rented a car with friends and drove to the Gorges du Verdon, where we kayaked through turquoise waters, cliff-jumped from the surrounding hillsides and made an impromptu roadside stop to wander through fields of lavender.
Some of the best parts of the trip were the unexpected moments that happened along the way. One of my favorites came on a train platform when a tourist turned to my group and asked which train they should take, as if we were locals. After weeks of navigating unfamiliar streets, train schedules and towns along the coast, we had apparently reached a new level of confidence.
As the six weeks came to an end, it was the small routines I had created that made leaving feel bittersweet. Work Your World gave me the chance to experience France in a way that a traditional vacation never could. I wasn’t simply visiting Nice for a few weeks; I was able to really immerse ourselves myself in the local culture and meet people from around the world, while continuing to collaborate with my team and support my clients.
I would strongly encourage any PHMer considering this program to take the leap. It was an experience I’ll never forget, and one that reminded me how valuable it can be to step outside of the everyday routines, embrace a new environment and make the most of these opportunities.
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