“Workation”: The New Work Trend That Companies Around the World Will Have to Adapt to.
The COVID-19 pandemic has only accelerated this trend.
Welcome to the era of digital nomadism. By 2035, there will be a total of 1 billion nomadic workers worldwide, according to a study by Levels.io that was presented back in 2015. When we see the current trend accelerating, we can say this study was correct.
Gone are the constraints of daily life such as travel time, dress code, or fixed schedules, workation would considerably reduce employees' stress and improve their quality of life. Stimulated by the change of environment, new encounters, and the discovery of new horizons, their creativity and productivity would only increase tenfold.
But if the number of workation enthusiasts in Europe has doubled since the health crisis, the trend made in the USA raises several questions within companies:
Is it a truly productive work model, or on the contrary, too much of a vacation?
What about the border between professional and private life and the psycho-social risks for employees?
How do manage the carbon impact inherent to this way of working?
Workation in practice
The possibility of practicing workation is a decision that should not be taken lightly. First of all, the company must define a clear protocol beforehand, setting out a framework and precise rules. This includes stipulating the employee's obligations towards the company, such as being reachable within a certain time frame or having a reliable and secure Internet connection at all times.
Then, the company must provide the employees with adapted equipment such as a computer and a professional phone with a functional webcam and microphone. Finally, it is important to establish a schedule with regular meetings to ensure that projects are running smoothly and to discuss any questions or difficulties.
It should be noted that a growing number of companies are choosing to encourage a responsible workation model. This model restricts the adoption of this practice to the employee's home country to contribute to territorial equity and to limit the carbon footprint of their employees.
Good to know too: there is now a workation community to accompany budding digital nomads and help them adopt best practices.
The “workstations” become the spaces of choice for new workers
To accommodate the growing community of digital nomads, third-party locations are also deploying their offers. We talk about “workstations”, hybrid spaces that bring together under the same roof offices to share and places that promote relaxation, meetings, and fun activities.
Of course, it is not compulsory to use these places when you are in workation. A hotel room, an Airbnb, a guest house, or even a bar can be converted into a workstation.
However, many coworking spaces dedicated to mobile workers are emerging all over the world and offer an all-inclusive service to better accommodate the workation. This is the case of coliving, a living and working space halfway between coworking and colocation. One thing is for sure, the work revolution is underway and it is time for companies that are still reluctant to follow suit.
This trend is going to accelerate and Levels.io's predictions from 2015 are disturbingly accurate regarding the evolution of the number of freelancers in America, for example:
This will be facilitated by the development of high-speed communication technologies like 5G and 6G in the future. You will be able to do everything with your smartphone, which will act as a modem wherever you are in the world, as long as your area supports a high-speed network.
It will be interesting to see if the workation trend will continue to follow Levels.io's predictions in the future. That's what's at stake for employees and businesses in the years to come.
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