An article came through my email last week, and it piqued my interest enough that I wanted to share it with you all. It was all about workcations — more specifically, how nearly half of American workers have taken one. But not necessarily because they just wanted to travel. The biggest factor was work pressure.
It hit me how sad that was—but if I’m being honest, I have definitely taken my share of workcation. In fact, I plan to take one this summer to justify being “away” from my desk. Even though I have more flexibility than many people as a freelancer, I still have deadlines and people who depend on me to get things done. So when you’re working a standard 9 to 5, that obviously multiplies.
As it turns out, workcations have gotten a lot more popular in the years since the pandemic. And that makes sense. After all, most of us got “reprogrammed” for two years to work from home or some other non-work location. And now that working away from the office is more acceptable, it makes the concept of working from a sunny beach or even a new city much more appealing.
But while workcations obviously have perks, there’s definitely a negative connotation with them. Let’s dive into what the report from Jobsage found:
Key Findings About Workcations:
- 59% of Americans don’t like blending work and vacation
- 67% say they don’t work as hard on “workcation”
- 67% of employees blended work and leisure in recent years
So it seems like even if we don’t want to work while we’re supposed to be relaxing, it kind of happens anyway. Why is that?
Workcations for Digital Nomads vs. Office Workers
Workcations result from quite a few different factors, ranging from peer pressure to a lack of PTO to a desire for a different kind of lifestyle (aka digital nomads).
In the case of “digital nomads,” workcations are a choice, and often one that people thoroughly enjoy—provided they can set the appropriate work boundaries for themselves. It’s become quite a popular lifestyle over the past several years for people who have the ability to work remotely on a full-time basis. And I can certainly see the appeal: you could discover a new city every week or month indefinitely! If you want more information on that, be sure to check out Lance Cody-Valdez’s mini-series on my blog.
But for Americans who don’t have the freedom to be out of the office for weeks on end, workcations seem to be more work and less vacation.
The Jobsage report found that almost half of Americans (47%) have taken a workcation because they couldn’t take time off from work. And it’s not only because they didn’t have time off to use. 1 in 5 Americans didn’t use any of their PTO in 2022. That’s 20% of the population who felt too pressured by work to step away at all during the year. 71% reported that they didn’t get to use all of their PTO for the year.
Here’s another big hit: 81% of people who took a “normal” vacation ended up working because they didn’t feel like they could disconnect!
This makes me wonder how much any of us are actually relaxing when we take a vacation. Have work pressures in a digital world become so intense that we can never truly step away from the office?
The Upside to Taking a Workcation
Obviously, workcations can’t be all bad–or no one would ever take them. So what exactly is the appeal of blending work and leisure?
One big pro is obviously the freedom to travel while you work. For many, just the thought of working someplace other than your desk can boost your mood. And while taking your computer to a sandy beach isn’t always the chill experience you might hope, working from a new location can be a huge motivator. A new view, cool accommodations, and a night of exploration ahead? Sounds good to me!
The biggest motivator that the survey uncovered was that taking a workcation is good for your health! Especially for those who spend their days working in a big city or live a fairly sedentary lifestyle, workcations are a great way to get some fresh air and exercise after work.
People also reported other positives like feeling less stressed, not having to take time off, and that it was actually good for their work!
The Conclusion on Workcations
While some Americans see workcations as a free pass to travel and relax without giving up their steady income, others see it as a hassle.
In some cases, it’s just the best compromise available to feel like you’ve gotten a break while still keeping up with a demanding job. But for others, it’s clear that work in a digital age has become all-consuming, and they no longer have the ability to truly relax like we need to.
That’s a huge shame because countless studies report that taking a vacation is important for not just mental health, but also heart health and life expectancy!
Setting Work Boundaries
So should you take a workcation? The choice is ultimately up to you, but I think it boils down to setting boundaries.
You can have a positive workcation if you set clear boundaries (for yourself and your co-workers) on when you’ll be online and when you plan to disconnect and enjoy your new location.
And if you take an actual vacation, leave your work laptop or phone at home and allow yourself to truly enjoy the paid time OFF that you not only worked hard for but are actually entitled to if they’re part of your work package. In fact, if you work on vacation, see if you can charge those hours to your timecard to get those PTO hours back.
It may be really hard to do at first when we’ve been programmed to be on beck and call at all times, but I think you’ll find that dedicated time away from work pressure will do wonders for you.
Closing Thoughts
Be sure to check out the full article from Jobsage to see all their findings and get even deeper insights into the workcation trend for Americans. Many thanks to them for putting this together and allowing me to share this report and graphics with you.
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I hope to see you back here again soon! Happy travels!
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