The perfect Combination of Work and Vacation The Advantages of
Workation - and what is
important when planning

What is a Workation?

“Workation“ is made up of “work” and “vacation”. You combine work and leisure by working in a completely different place during a vacation or trip from your normal everyday life. Essentially, it’s a form of flexible working, where you are not tied to a fixed physical work location but can work from any location (with internet access). Make positive memories: in the new environment, you will meet new people and a different culture and may even learn a different language. And you may even have the opportunity to build new networks.

Work-life Balance, Inspiration and Networking - the Benefits for Employees

When you complete a workation, you are effectively moving your home office to a different location for a certain period of time. This can help to improve your work-life balance in particular. However, not by clearly separating work and relaxation, but by integrating relaxation into the working day and reducing the general stress level.

A workation can also stimulate creativity and thus increase work productivity. Many people who do workations want a change of scenery to find new inspiration. They also want to get away from their daily routine for a while. A workation offers the perfect conditions for this! You can broaden your horizon and make positive memories: in the new environment, you will get to know new people and a different culture and, depending on the situation, learn another language. And you may even have the opportunity to build new networks.

You can achieve all this within the framework of workation without having to interrupt your work, as would be the case with a sabbatical, for example.

Employer Branding, increased Efficiency and Employee Retention - the Benefits for Companies

Companies also benefit when employees complete workations, because by offering them this flexibility, they increase employee satisfaction and retention while also increasing their own ability to innovate. Workations are an innovative way of showing appreciation to employees, producing faster and better work results and processes and underlining employer branding.

Necessary Prerequisite: Digitalization!

This sounds like a great opportunity that companies can offer their employees. However, the framework conditions must also be right in terms of working methods and collaboration within the company. It is therefore a necessary prerequisite that all work processes of employees are digital. After all, it would not be possible to stay abroad for a longer period of time if you had to travel to the office once a week to look at documents or take part in meetings on site.

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It is advisable to tackle the digital transformation at an early stage, as it is not just a matter of providing the necessary technologies. The company processes and the ways of thinking of employees also need to follow suit. After all, it makes little sense to pour old wine into new bottles.

8 Tips for Organizing and Preparing your Workation

If the conditions in your company are met and you would like to take part in a workation, you should discuss this with your employer with some lead time and plan carefully if the answer is positive. You should definitely include the following eight factors in your planning.

1. Destination ✈️: Decide on a destination that is suitable for both work and leisure activities. You should consider what working conditions you need, such as reliable internet and a quiet workplace. You should book accommodation and transportation in advance. It may also be a good idea to take out a long-term rental contract for your accommodation to save costs at this point.

2. Framework conditions/communication 💬🏠: Plan in advance how long your workation will last and agree this with your employer, your colleagues (and clients if applicable). Clarify expectations and work processes. If necessary, also provide information about your regular availability at the destination.

3. Work environment 💻: Create a working environment in which you can work effectively. This can be a quiet room in your accommodation, an on-site co-working space or a café with Wi-Fi access. Plan backup options in case the internet goes down. And, of course, pack all the necessary work equipment, including laptop, charging cable, headphones/headset, mouse and keyboard.

4. Time and financial management ⏲: It can help to use time management techniques to increase your work efficiency. This is because in a different environment, you are more easily distracted by all the new impressions at first. Well-known methods that you can use for your time management include the Pomodoro technique, the Eisenhower matrix or simply to-do lists. Also keep a regular eye on your expenses during the workation to stay within your budget.

5. Data security 🔒: Think about the security of your data and files. Use VPN services and secure passwords and store important documents in cloud services so that they cannot be lost.

6. Leisure planning 🌴: You should also plan leisure activities and excursions to places of interest in advance so that your workation is actually relaxed. It is best to always keep an eye on your work-life balance.

7. Emergency plan 🏥: Create a kind of emergency plan in case unforeseen events occur. It could be that you have to deal with technical problems during the workation or get sick so that you are unable to work. Find out how you can get medical care and get contact information for local support. Check your health insurance and insurance for your work equipment to ensure that you are adequately covered in every respect.

8. Return plan 🔙: Even if it is still a long way off at the time of planning: think in advance about how you can seamlessly return to your normal working rhythm after your workation. It is also best to make a plan for this. This will certainly make it easier for you to readjust.

Time out from the Office or Home Office: your Work-life Balance benefits

Workation offers advantages for both individual employees and companies, especially in companies where home office, remote work and sabbaticals are the order of the day, this flexible working model is becoming increasingly popular.

A big plus point of workation is the improvement of the work-life balance. To ensure that workation really does bring about the desired relaxation, planning and preparation are the be-all and end-all. Otherwise, it’s not the work-life balance that benefits in the end, but the stress level.