Workcation: What is it and will it stick?

Australian companies are embracing hybrid work, and there’s talk this model will soon extend into our downtime. Learn what a workcation is and whether they will stick.

Hybrid work model

According to 50 CEOs from some of Australia’s biggest employers, the hybrid work model is here to stay. Polled this December, CEOs accepted there were many positive aspects that came out of the lockdown and entire companies having to WFH. The hybrid model is built on these positive aspects which offer greater flexibility but still preserve collaboration and invest in a remote culture.

Employees may work partly from home and nominate a few days to work in the office. For customer-facing roles, it’s expected greater workplace flexibility will be offered so they too can also enjoy a hybrid work model.

What is a workcation?

In response to the popularity of the hybrid work model, some resorts are pitching themselves as a place to mix leisure and work. These resorts are typically luxury and fall in the wellness category.

But what is the appeal of a workcation?

A known challenge of remote work is the blurred lines between work and home life. Work hours can extend and you might respond to emails at all hours–including the weekends—which becomes an easy thing to do. The tourism industry has mirrored this WFH habit and offered a better way to facilitate it: workcations.

With work and home so intimately mixed already, they suggest that doing your work at a luxury resort will offer you time to find balance. You can manage to send emails and take work calls and find times for meaningful breaks, just as you would at home. But instead of spending your lunch walking around the block, you attend a Pilates class, mindfulness meditation session or a luxury spa for a massage.

Better yet, it can be incentivised by your workplace, and you don’t have to use up all your precious annual leave.

Will workcations stick?

Paid time away, but not offline does sound appealing. But it’s hard to imagine it will ever completely replace annual leave. Even workaholics are affected by burnout.

For workcations to stick, there would also need to be a family-friendly option that allows for childcare or kids clubs during the day.

What’s probably more likely is that individuals who like to travel for work will see this as a huge drawcard. Incentivising this in the right company could be a perfect fit. It will also work for companies who host retreats or would like to make use of the service for strategic planning and a team week away.