Related terms
Workation: defining a hot trend
Workation is the contraction of work and vacation. A new trend straight out of California, inherited from the Digital Nomads at the end of 2010. But what exactly is it? What is it, how does it work and what are the benefits?
What is workation?
What if you combined "work and vacation" - vacation time and professional activity - by opting for workation or tracances?
Quite simply, it's a way for workers to continue their professional activities and carry out their assignments at their vacation destination. The ideal way to rest away from home, while remaining efficient and effective.
Launched by the Digital Nomads, this practice is now attracting more and more workers - especially those who prefer to telecommute. And with good reason: working in a more peaceful environment allows you to recharge your batteries and contributes to your well-being and stress reduction.
Workation: when work and vacations go hand in hand!
The workation principle clearly helps to give your company a modern, innovative image. This is all the more relevant if you're having difficulty recruiting: workation is an effective way for you toattract new talent.
Short- and medium-term remote working from your vacation spot is also a way of retaining and building loyalty among your employees - especially millenials and digital nomads who like to travel.
Workation in a few key figures
According to Statista:
- 83% of 18-35 year olds would like their organization to implement workation
- 94% of workers plan to go into workation in 2023
Does workation improve work-life balance?
Like telecommuting, workation offers a more flexible framework in which to carry out one's assignments, while also reducing the stress caused by public transport or commuting. The added bonus: workers have the opportunity to discover new landscapes and different cultures.
Today, a host of companies are offering digital nomads remote workplaces tailored to their needs. It's the rise of the workstation!
These spaces offer a different working environment and experience depending on the activity:
- hotels (moments of concentration),
- coworking spaces (networking),
- co-living (informal get-togethers)...
Nevertheless, it's important to choose locations with a good Internet connection and an environment suited to the activity , and to be well equipped to carry out your assignments.
The advantages and disadvantages of workation
A few advantages...
Workation gives workers greater autonomy and flexibility: they can work wherever and whenever they like from their vacation location. Perfect for getting away from the routine of working in the office and then teleworking from home.
As with working from home, your employees are less stressed in the context of workation. As a result, you increase their well-being, and boost productivity and creativity.
Please note
According to Statista, 81% of workers experienced a boost in creativity after a workation experience.
Another advantage, and not the least, is that you can reduce the size of your company's office space in favor of remote working, notably by eliminating or converting unoccupied workstations. Ultimately, you can boost the profitability of your premises at .
... but also disadvantages
Vacations and vacations are a time to rest and clear the mind. However, with workation and remote working, employees sometimes find it hard to switch off.
For other employees, it's just the opposite: they can't getorganized, discipline themselves or manage their tasks independently.
Note also that if your employees are going to work abroad temporarily, they need to be aware of the time zone. If they need to communicate live with other people, they need to be able toorganize their communication to work asynchronously, but also to use good collaborative tools (Miro, Notion...).
It's up to you to support this practice with a clear framework and the support of your managers.
What does the law say?
Workation is only possible if the employee lives in his or her home country (second home, vacation rental, etc.). The only constraint is that the employer must be informed in writing of the telecommuting location, for reasons of workplace accident cover.
And to work abroad: employees must also obtaintheir employer's agreement.
There's no secret about it: workation is a real plus for your company and your employees. It's up to you to decide whether or not you want to take the plunge.
