Something fascinating is happening in workplaces across Britain and beyond. The traditional Monday-to-Friday office routine is giving way to something far more fluid, where your next team meeting might happen from a café in Copenhagen or a co-working space in Cape Town. Welcome to the world of workations, where productivity meets wanderlust in ways that would have seemed impossible just a few years ago.
You’ve probably seen the images on LinkedIn: laptops perched on tropical terraces, Zoom calls with mountain backdrops. But strip away the Instagram aesthetic and you’re left with a genuinely intriguing question: are workations reshaping how we think about work-life integration, or are we simply putting a trendy label on what amounts to working whilst on holiday?
Rethinking the Office From Conference Rooms to Catalan Coastlines
Picture this: your marketing director joins the quarterly review from a converted farmhouse in Tuscany, whilst your finance lead dials in from a beachside café in Barcelona. This isn’t holiday multitasking, it’s a fundamental reimagining of where meaningful work happens. The pandemic shattered our assumptions about productivity being tied to postcodes, and workations represent the next logical step in that evolution.
What makes this particularly compelling is how it challenges our deeply ingrained beliefs about presence and performance. For decades, we’ve operated on the premise that being seen equals being productive. Workations flip that script entirely, suggesting that inspiration and change of scenery might actually enhance output rather than diminish it.
Why This Resonates So Deeply
Your younger workforce isn’t just seeking a paycheque and pension contributions anymore. Gen Z professionals, in particular, view work as one thread in a richer tapestry of life experiences. They want their careers to fuel personal growth, not just bank balances. Workations offer exactly that: the chance to develop professionally whilst exploring personally.
There’s solid business logic here too. When did you last have your most creative breakthrough? Chances are it wasn’t during your third back-to-back meeting of the day. Fresh environments stimulate fresh thinking. That presentation you’ve been wrestling with might suddenly click when you’re working from a different context entirely. The question isn’t whether change of scenery affects thinking, it’s whether you’re harnessing that effect strategically.
Making Workations Actually Work: A Strategic Approach
Here’s where good intentions meet practical reality. Workations can either become a genuine competitive advantage or an administrative nightmare, depending entirely on how you implement them. The difference lies in treating this as a serious business initiative rather than a trendy perk.
• Establish Clear Boundaries Without Micromanaging
Don’t confuse flexibility with chaos. Your team still needs rhythm and predictability, whether they’re working from Manchester or Marrakech. Define core collaboration hours that work across time zones and stick to them. Everyone should know when they can expect responses and when they can truly switch off.
• Focus on Deliverables, Not Desk Time
This is where many organisations stumble. If you’re still measuring success by hours logged rather than outcomes achieved, workations will expose that fundamental flaw quickly. Shift your metrics to focus on what actually matters: quality of work, meeting deadlines, and contributing to team objectives. Trust your people to manage their own productivity rhythms.
• Build Flexibility Into Your Organisational DNA
True flexibility isn’t just about policy documents, it’s about cultural expectations. Encourage your teams to plan thoughtfully, considering connectivity, time zones, and their own productivity patterns. Whether someone wants to extend a family holiday by working remotely for a week or spend a month exploring Southeast Asia whilst staying fully productive, the key is advance planning and clear communication.
The Dark Side: When Paradise Becomes Prison
Let’s address the elephant in the virtual room: workations can become burnout in disguise if you’re not careful. The most dangerous outcome is creating an expectation that people should be perpetually available simply because they’re in an exotic location. That defeats the entire purpose and risks turning what should be an energising experience into a guilt-ridden obligation.
Not every destination suits every work style either. Some of your team will thrive with waves crashing in the background, others need complete silence to concentrate. This isn’t about offering one-size-fits-all solutions, it’s about understanding individual preferences and working styles.
Legal Complexity: The Unsexy Bits That Matter
Before you get swept away by the lifestyle appeal, there are some rather tedious but absolutely crucial legal considerations:
- Tax Implications
Extended working abroad can trigger unexpected tax obligations for both employee and employer. You’ll need to understand international tax treaties and their implications for remote work arrangements. - Visa Requirements
Most tourist visas don’t technically permit remote work, even for overseas employers. This creates a legal grey area that requires careful navigation and clear policies. - Employment Law Variations
Working hours regulations, health and safety requirements, and employment rights vary dramatically between countries. You need to understand which jurisdiction’s laws apply and when.
Implementation: Getting the Mechanics Right
If you’re convinced workations could work for your organisation, here’s how to implement them systematically:
- Location Risk Assessment
Evaluate potential destinations for internet reliability, safety considerations, and general suitability for productive work. A stunning view means nothing if the Wi-Fi can’t handle video calls. - Structured Communication Protocols
Regular check-ins become even more important when teams are distributed globally. Create clear expectations about communication frequency and methods without sliding into surveillance. - Technical Support Infrastructure
Your IT helpdesk needs to support team members across multiple time zones and technical environments. This might mean extending support hours or partnering with international providers.
The Bigger Picture: Trust as a Competitive Advantage
Workations represent something more significant than just another flexible working arrangement. They signal a fundamental shift in how organisations view the relationship between work and life. When you trust your people to be productive regardless of location, you’re making a statement about your culture that resonates far beyond the policy handbook.
The organisations that get this right won’t just attract talent, they’ll attract the right kind of talent: people who value autonomy, take ownership of their work, and see their role as part of a broader life journey rather than separate from it.
This requires courage from HR leaders. You’re essentially betting on your people’s professionalism and self-management skills. But when that bet pays off, the results go beyond individual satisfaction to create genuine competitive advantage through enhanced creativity, improved retention, and stronger employer brand.
The workation trend isn’t going anywhere. The question is whether you’ll shape it proactively or find yourself reacting to demands from your workforce. Because in a world where talent has choices, the organisations offering genuine flexibility and trust will consistently win the best people.
