”Workcations”, a contraction of the words “work” and “vacations”, are increasingly popular with employees. Working remotely from a place other than home is in vogue with the growing popularity of telecommuting.
The pandemic has shaken up the way we work. Teleworking has become widespread and now allows the luckiest people, with the agreement of their employer, to go and work anywhere.
According to a survey by the Kayak travel search engine, published last December, more than a quarter (27%) of Canadian employees were planning to take “workcations” this year.
This trend is even more pronounced among Generation Z youth: 38% saw themselves with their feet in the water sipping a good vitamin cocktail with their laptop as a desk.
Certain destinations are also in high demand, according to Kayak’s Work From Wherever Guide, whose objective is to help people teleworking to find the best destination according to their personal preferences.
Lisbon in Portugal, Barcelona in Spain, or even Santa Teresa in Costa Rica and Bocas del Toro in Panama, are among the most popular cities. Canadians are indeed attracted to metropolitan cities with nearby beaches to treat themselves to beautiful weekends by the sea.
Some tour operators and accommodation rental platforms are also presenting more and more customized offers to meet the expectations of these “digital nomads” eager for freedom.
In order to combine business with pleasure, these workers inevitably need an adequate work environment on site with a good internet connection, all with the agreement of their employer’s management before leaving.
According to the survey cited above, a quarter of Canadian employees feel exhausted by their position. Nearly a third (28%) believe that a change of scenery would allow help them fight burnout.
With the rise of teleworking, employers are forced to adapt to the needs of employees, in terms of flexibility. Many people no longer hesitate to resign to obtain better working conditions. “Workcations” do indeed seem to be a good way to attract talent in a market with labour shortage.
By Caroline Bouffard – 37e Avenue