The word workcation has been around for some time, however, it has become far more prominent in the past few months, with people realising that work is not where you are but rather what you do wherever you are. It would probably be good to start this blog by defining what a workcation is vs. what digital nomads are about. For this, I am going to use a quote from writer Meredith Turits in an article written for the BBC:
“Instead of trying to build a wall between work and personal life, workcations lean into the idea that they’re not separate at all. It’s not quite the same as digital nomadism, in which you work where you please but still focus on your day-to-day tasks. Workcations are instead conscious efforts to separate yourself from your permanent environment and get extremely focused on one element of your job. You step away with the explicit intention to ignore the daily churn.”
Why Consider a Workcation?
Workcations can be focused on certain activities. In some cases, this could be yoga, hiking or getting closer to nature. Then some are just focused on getting out into a different physical environment (a change in scenery). It has been proven that putting people in different environments improves productivity and creativity. It can also be said that workcations as a general rule are for a shorter period of time, say 2 weeks, as opposed to digital nomads who travel for a few months or years.
Sitting in an office or familiar surroundings, such as your house or even just being in the same town at the same coffee shops, can link you to the churn of everyday day life. This same predictive environment leads to predictive thinking on problems, giving the same outcomes. Moving to a completely different environment and talking to different people creates different answers, leading to better problem solving and more creativity. It also gives you the ability to not only focus on work. Sometimes the best answers to tough questions come about when you are not obsessing on the outcome. A workcation is also less onerous on your company, as you are not necessarily taking time off and switching off from work, you are merely changing scenery but still getting things done.
We have touched on the benefits of why you should consider a workcation. For the establishments that can offer stays for people looking at doing a workcation, there is an entirely new market and type of traveller. The initial benefit for these establishments is that people will tend to stay for longer periods of time, and increased occupancy would be welcomed at this time – especially post-COVID. Establishments should look at promoting specific activities that the area may be known for, such as hiking or skiing. I know in our area, Hermanus, we currently have whale watching season, which often attracts foreign tourists at this time of the year. The weather is moderate, so you can enjoy the beach, whale watching and hiking. These could be promoted to potential workcation customers. Workcation people spend money in the local restaurants and shops, so this is a great way to boost a local economy and promote tourism.
People looking at a workcation, it is important that they should be able to do their work when required, so going into an area where there is no WiFi and infrastructure would not be ideal for a workcation. Popular remote work destinations will offer good business infrastructure, even if it means the accommodation institution partners with a “shared” workspace such as Co.Unity to achieve this. In fact, sometimes this will work out better, as the workcationer might feel they can still have a place to break out and get things done, and then experience the local sights and activities.
New times have created new opportunities, and we believe that there is a huge opportunity waiting for the tourism industry and establishments looking at growing a client base, by offering this service. In fact, we have recently had a few remote clients using our space at Co.Unity Hermanus with a huge amount of success.
Find out more about how Co.Unity helps you plan the ultimate workcation in Hermanus and get in touch with our team today.