Workation: what it is, types and benefits

The word “Workation” comes from a fusion of the words “work” and “vacation”. This concept arises from a growing trend where companies organize work trips where employees can also relax to improve productivity. This trend is also growing in popularity due to the surge in digital nomads who are forming workaways in different countries across the globe where they co-share and co-work from a property. There are different types of workations: short, medium, and long-term where workers can take a shorter trip for a weekend or up to years in destinations either close to their home or further afield.

There are many benefits to workations including increased job satisfaction, less burnout, improved productivity and morale, and lower employee turnover. After all, who would say no to a vacation?

What is Workation?

The COVID-19 pandemic thrust many workers into the “new normal” of remote working, since the pandemic, many workers haven’t returned to the office and many have even moved to other countries to work remotely.

A workation is a working holiday where people can work and enjoy time away from the office environment.

Types of workation

There are different kinds of workations. These can be short-term, medium-term, and long-term workations.

Short-term workation is usually a weekend or a week-long break. These would normally occur closer to the workplace and is much more accessible for companies and employees alike. This is ideal for team building or specific project which requires more cohesive bonding.

Medium-term workations could last a few weeks to a month. This begins to open up more opportunities and destinations and you could consider workations in your own country, or even traveling to another country to work from.

Long-term workations could last from months to years. These kinds of workers are considered remote workers since they have the freedom to work remotely without having to go to the office at all.

Obviously, the more time you have, the further away you could travel for your workation.

Long-term workations are popular for digital nomads, where you can co-rent beautiful villas in sun-splashed countries with other nomads and work from this location for a few months or longer periods.

Workations could also take the form of group or individual workations. Workations in a group could include companies taking their team on a workation, whilst an individual workation would be considered a working leave, where you continue to work remotely.

Workations can also include different options such as staying with family and friends, instead of staying at hotels. This allows you to spend time with the people that matter to you.

Some choose a workation to spend time with a significant other who is working abroad. Long-distance relationships can be hard, and a workation could be a solution to spend time with your partner without sacrificing work responsibilities.

Given the many different reasons and styles of workations, from corporate and digital nomads to being able to work away from home to spend time with loved ones, you will find a workation solution that’s ideal for you.

Benefits of workation

There are many benefits to a workation and many are related to workers’ wellbeing and work-life balance. Since the pandemic, when employees had to work from home, many reported less burnout and better morale. On a workation, employees can take time to visit local sights, take a stroll or go to the beach. The change of atmosphere or even engagement in hobbies or discovery of new environments can improve mental well-being.

When employees are more relaxed, they will produce better quality work and also be more motivated and loyal to their employer.

This motivation translates into creativity and productivity, also being away from the pressures and responsibilities of home, workers will have fewer chores or no chores to do and fewer commitments, giving them more time to dedicate to the reason they are there – work and leisure. Another reason that workations boost productivity is that there are fewer distractions than in the office, no more endless meetings or colleagues knocking on your door or gossiping by the water fountain, this allows workers to focus on the task at hand with fewer interruptions.

Remote working doesn’t only benefit the workers, it benefits the organization too. Remote workers report increased productivity and less employee turnover which means more talent retention and higher-quality work.

Knowing new countries and having the possibility of working from different places can be exciting if you like this adventurous lifestyle.

You could read our guide about Nomad Visa in Spain. It is interesting for you.

Possible disadvantages

There are challenges with workations and this form of working does not suit everyone. Some may prefer the office environment and may feel that a foreign environment is too stimulating and distracting, and this may come at a cost and affect the quality of their work.

Another drawback is the cost of workations which can be significant for companies. The cost of sending employees for a few days or even a week may not be something within their budget.

A strong internet connection and secure network are also crucial for this set-up to function effectively, therefore, not every location is ideal.

Also, another consideration for the employees is whether they are making more money than they are spending on the holiday. It may be tempting to go all out when you’re on holiday, after all, it’s a vacation, but watching expenses is important to make it worthwhile.

Personal logistics may come into play, not everyone can uproot their life and move to another location for a few weeks or months to work, this can upset their work-life balance, and they may have responsibilities such as mortgages, schooling and children to manage.

Suitable careers for workation

After having read about workations, you may be wondering what jobs would be suitable for this kind of vacation.

In general, any job done in front of a computer that does not require a client-facing role is ideal. Jobs such as marketing, content creation, creative jobs, data analysis, coaching, data science, etc.

So what are you waiting for? Maybe it’s time you booked a workation…