Workation in the News
Remote working has been gaining momentum over the past years, and it’s no longer the preserve of digital nomads. Work from home has started to mean work from anywhere. Here are quotes, facts and figures from the past few years about this growing trend.
75 million U.S. employees
(56% of the U.S. workforce) have a job that allows for remote work due to COVID-19,
according to a survey by Global Workplace Analytics
Want Flexible Work
85%
Flexibility increases loyalty; 85% of millennials want flexible work
More Productive
93%
93% of respondents are more productive when working remotely
Interruptions cost $588 billion
Workplace interruptions cost companies $588 billion a year
20% more productive
Remote workers are 20% more productive than their office-based counterparts
Closing the gender gap
76% of women surveyed in 2017 who work in technology said a remote work option is increasingly necessary to attract and maintain females in the tech industry.
31 hours wasted
The average employee wastes 31 hours a month in unproductive meetings
$11,000 saved
On average, companies save $11,000 per remote employee per year
Higher Salaries
According to the 2019 OWL Labs survey, remote workers earn salaries higher than $100,000/year, 2.2x more frequently than on-site workers
For better or for worse, some pandemic-prompted travel changes are forever
Boston Globe, August 11, 2021
“Sixty-seven percent of pandemic travelers who combined vacations with remote work or online schooling want to do it again, a Vrbo survey found.”
Work From Home is dead. Long live Work From Anywhere
TechCrunch, May 18, 2020
“Work From Home is terrible branding, precisely because it fails to communicate the fundamental freedom that comes with these new policies. It’s not about further imprisoning us in our homes – it’s about empowering us to think and work exactly where we are personally most productive.”
“The point of flexibility here is to untether our schedules and the stress associated with them and allow our work to happen where we want it to.”
“This new workplace flexibility is not about saving money, nor long-term social distancing. In the end, it’s an investment in employee well-being, productivity, and ultimately, profitability.”
The inevitable rise of the “premium” digital nomad
Quartz, December 10, 2017
“Digital nomadism was a trail-blazing movement that made the concept of location independence possible.”
“These spaces are not positioning themselves as part of the digital nomad trend, but rather, an offshoot of it. It’s digital nomadism – minus the cheap rent and so-called ‘tech bro’ stereotype. The premium nomads have arrived.”
“That the once-fringe model of digital nomadism has become professionally acceptable enough to attract a newer, older demographic is interesting.”
Work around the world
CNN Travel, June 13, 2017
“In the US alone, 37% of workers say they telecommute – up from 9% in 1995 – according to a 2015 Gallup poll.”
“Roughly 68% of millennial job seekers said that an option to work remotely would sweeten any job deal, according to a survey by networking site AfterCollege.”
“What started as a focus on remote work has evolved into deep-dive experiences and adventures that double as a way to expand your professional network.”
Work around the world
Entrepreneur Magazine, August 21, 2020
“The nature of many jobs has changed, with remote work becoming the next normal. This shift towards ‘digital by default’ and ‘remote-first’ structures has been cranked to its maximum capacity across the country, causing innovation to take on a new face.”
“A study by Google on remote workers found ‘no difference in the effectiveness, performance ratings or promotions for individuals and teams whose work requires collaboration with colleagues around the world versus Googlers who spend most of their day to day working with colleagues in the same office.'”
“IBM, the pioneer of teleworking, eliminated almost all of its office work years ago, and then released a report entitled ‘Challenging the modern myths of remote working, the evidence for the upside of teleworking.’ Already in 2014, they boasted about their innovative modern business model with over 40 percent of their employees working remotely. Remote work has the potential to destroy innovation hotspots like Silicon Valley, as it has prompted entrepreneurs to disperse themselves across their respective countries at an ever-increasing rate.”
“Remote work means that a new species of entrepreneur has emerged, and those who adapt fastest will be best-suited moving forward.”
Before the pandemic, working from home (WFH) had been gaining traction…
Washington Post, February 19, 2021
“Nearly a year ago, the arrangement became mainstream and, for millions of us, mandatory. At the same time, the idea of working from anywhere (WFA) started to emerge as a viable option.”
“Jay Ternavan, who runs Workation.com, a travel agency for remote workers, said to weigh such factors as weather, culture, cuisine, activities and budget — the same starting points for picking a vacation spot. But you also need to consider the time difference and how it will affect your work schedule and sleep patterns.”
Airbnb CEO Brian Chesky predicts a wildly different future of travel and living, and it sounds pretty great
Business Insider, August 20, 2020
“We used to do a lot of travel for work, and then we entertained ourselves on screens. That’s going to inverse. I think we’ll work more on screens and entertain ourselves in the real world.”
“People choosing to work remotely while traveling to different countries was already a growing trend before the coronavirus. Some have said that the pandemic has exacerbated common issues in cities – population density and a high cost of living, to name a few – that will eventually lead to a mass exodus from America’s urban centers.”
“Many people are realizing they don’t have to be tethered to one city. So you’ll see more people who are going to choose to live around the world, spending a few months at a time in different places.”
These companies plan to make working from home the new normal. As in forever
CNN Business, May 22, 2020
“Mark Zuckerberg said as many as 50% of Facebook employees could be working remotely within the next five to 10 years. Zuckerberg pitched the idea as both a matter of satisfying employee desires and also as an effort to create ‘more broad-based economic prosperity.’ “
“Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey’s other company, Square, plans to allow staff members to work from home once the pandemic ends. Square wants employees to be able to work where they want in an environment that suits them.”
Tobi Lutke, CEO of Shopify, announced that the world of work has been turned on its head. ‘Office centricity is over,’ he tweeted. ‘As of today, Shopify is a digital by default company.’ This year, Shopify will rework its physical spaces for this new reality. Afterward, most employees will work remotely – permanently.”
Resorts Now Offering Work-Related Travel Options
Forbes, August 11, 2020
“Another positive trend is that your average nine-to-five worker is no longer confined to being in an office Monday through Friday, ultimately gaining a sense of flexibility that was never before possible. ‘Workations’ is a new phenomenon that suggests the homebound worker will leverage this new-found geographical liberty to book more travel to safe and secure havens. With guest comfort and safety at the forefront, hotels and resorts are embracing the emerging workation trend, offering uniquely designed perks for today’s traveler.”
