WORKING: The new trend of teleworking on vacation

English term born from the contraction of Words Work and Vacation , the Workation means a practice which consists in teleworking during a vacation , or to take advantage of the telework to go on vacation.

If this new trend in the world of work was born about ten years ago, it has experienced an unprecedented boom since the COVID-19 epidemic with the generalization of telework.

Indeed, the pandemic has permanently changed our working methods. While before the pandemic, only 4% of employees were affected by teleworking, this figure is today at more than 30%.

And even if it means teleworking, some take the opportunity to change places, get out of their routine and take the opportunity to discover new places. While the places of entertainment remained closed during the crisis, many people preferred to escape cities and take advantage of the freedom of telework to get closer to nature.

This new trend improves your quality of life , even stimulating its creativity, but it can also affect the productivity and cohesion of a team.

To learn all about how to practice work to withdraw only the benefits, Marvin deciphers this new trend for you.

‍

The best of both worlds: the advantages of the workation

‍

Save time and money

By combining work and travel, the Workation offers many advantages, especially in terms of time and money savings.

Indeed, the remote work ends the long hours lost in transport every week to move from your home to your workplace. This saving of time is also accompanied by savings for the employee as well as for the company, because the costs linked to the home-work trip are not negligible.

The workation also makes it possible to move away from major cities where the cost of living is often much higher, to favor places where the price of accommodation or food is lower.

It is also synonymous with savings for the employer , which can count on the teleworking of part of its payroll to reduce the fixed costs of the workplace (rental, furniture, energy bill, etc.).

‍

Improve your quality of life

The most obvious advantages of the workation are surely those linked to improving the quality of life.

Being able to work from a vacation location, or another place than his home allows the employee to get out of his routine, to take advantage of the flexibility offered by the workation to discover new regions, their landscapes, cultures, etc.

It makes it possible to get away from it and improve your working conditions: possibility of walking on the breakfast break , going to the beach at the start or end of the day, taking air between two meetings, etc.

Many employees also take advantage of the workation to get out of big cities, leave an atmosphere that is sometimes scary, slow down the pace, enjoy a more serene frame , closer to nature and more relaxing.

‍

Stimulate its creativity and productivity

The workation can have significant advantages on the creativity and productivity of workers. The change of scenery allows you to find new sources of inspiration and motivation . Breaking everyday routine stimulate creativity.

The workation also makes it possible to gain productivity : by working in a less stressful, quieter environment (less noise around, more space, etc.), it is easier to focus to solve complex problems.

The prospect of more pleasant breaks, where you can more easily disconnect, get air that when you are at the office can also encourage productivity on working time.

‍

WORKING: The traps to avoid 

If the advantages of the workation are real and can be beneficial for the employee as well as for the employer, this new trend also has drawbacks that must be had in mind in order to be able to avoid them better.

‍

The difficulty in separating professional and private life

One of the main disadvantages of the workation is the confusion it can cause between private and professional life.

By combining work and holidays, it is sometimes difficult to define clear limits between working time and free time, which can lead to an imbalance , even generate stress .

You can for example feel obliged to lengthen your working hours. By having a suitable equipment and workspace, it is also more tempting to respond to professional messages outside working hours.

These flaws can lead to a difficulty in disconnecting and therefore affecting mental health.

The workation can also pose logistical problems (access to a reliable internet connection, to an appropriate workspace), which can cause interruptions or delays in work - or generate additional stress.

‍

Lack of structure and routine

If combining holidays and work has many advantages, this mixture of genres can also pose problems for some people needing a well -defined structure and a clear routine to be effective.

Working from vacation places or unknown places can lead to loss of bearings and difficulty establishing a routine, which can affect productivity and quality of work.

The workation can also shift working hours compared to a day at the office, which complicates collaboration and coordination of work with the rest of the team or customers.

‍

The risk of social isolation

If the workation can be synonymous with discoveries and meetings, it can also result in a form of social isolation.

Working from isolated places where you don't know anyone can lead to a feeling of solitude and disconnection of "normal" social life. This felt loneliness can affect the employee's emotional and social well-being.

Lack of regular professional contacts can also affect collaboration and productivity. In the absence of support and regular advice of colleagues and hierarchical superiors, it is sometimes more difficult to carry out your projects.

‍

How to set up a beneficial workation?

Marvin gives you some tips for an effective workation that takes into account the drawbacks of this new practice.

‍

Careful planning

To avoid the trap of confusion between private and personal life, you have to plan your days upstream to keep control of working time and gain efficiency.

Thus, a good practice can be to take stock of its objectives before starting your working day, and define specific time slots to move forward on these different points.

Also remember to plan regular points with your colleagues and your manager to maintain close collaboration with your team.

‍

Clear communication with employees

If your employees are in Working, you must bet on a clear communication so that it is beneficial. Upstream of the work period, agree on exchange rhythms , privileged communication channels , etc.

Even in Workation, it is important to keep a close collaboration , so do not hesitate to exchange as often as necessary with your employee.

‍

Choosing a suitable destination and accommodation

The first step in a workation is to choose its destination. It is advisable to favor a destination where the jet lag is limited, so as not to hinder collaboration with the rest of the team too much.

The employer can also issue recommendations in terms of destination security, for example depending on the availability of medical infrastructure on site. 

For a beneficial workation, you must find accommodation that lends itself to this new work practice.

When you plan your work, remember to look if the accommodation:

• has a reliable and stable internet connection
• allows you to easily develop a space dedicated to work
• is located in a calm

‍

The legal and tax challenges of the workation

The implementation of a workation also requires clarifying some tax and legal points.

‍

Taxes and regulations in different countries

If you wish to set up the workation in your company, and your employees wish to take the opportunity to change countries, you must find out about the applicable tax plans and the tax rules concerning the inhabitants who work in another country, etc.

What are the rules in force? Is there a number of working days to be respected to avoid changing tax residence? So many points to verify to be able to avoid legal and tax problems.

‍

Work and housing rental contracts

It is also important to adapt work contracts to this new trend . Specify in the contract if the Workation is authorized, on how long, at what distance from the workplace, etc.

Also think of insurance contracts , you may also have to make changes.

What are the arrangements to be taken if an incident occurs in a housing rented by an employee for an workation? What is happening in the event of a work accident in work? What risks to cover via the employer's insurance?

This information will allow you to best support your teams wishing to work and answer all their questions.

‍

Challenges for employers

For the employer, there are two main challenges linked to the implementation of the Workation:

• The management of teams remotely : to reconcile the demand for flexibility of employees and customer requirements, it is important to adapt management to these new working methods , so that these new practices do not harm the productivity of the team.
  
  
• Risk management : Depending on the activity of the company, there may be risks for the security and confidentiality of data during the workation, because employees often work from public places such as cafes or hotels. Employers must therefore ensure that their employees are equipped with the technology and the security protocols necessary to protect company data.

‍

Why integrate the Workation into your business?

The advantages of the workation are numerous, and your business has everything to gain it. Indeed, even if its implementation can be complicated at first, it is a choice winning in the long term. 

• To gain competitiveness on the recruitment market : employees are increasingly asking for these new hybrid work practices, and flexibility in general. By supporting your employees in setting up the workation, you maximize your chances of retaining the best.
  
  
• Recruit the best talents, looking for flexibility : by refusing the workation, you risk losing talents , or closing the door to potential new recruits. Indeed, it is not uncommon that the most creative talents are also the most demanding of flexibility.

‍

Conclusion

Flexibility, creativity, savings, the advantages of the workation are numerous for all the stakeholders of your business!

Adopting the workation also makes it possible to significantly improve your employer brand. At a time when the job market is in tension, it is a key factor to allow you to recruit the best talents. 

thanks the ATS Marvin , improve your employer brand and put all the odds on your side to attract the best candidates.

‍