As more people than ever have been required to work remotely, the necessity of the office is starting to seem like an archaic idea. The past year has effectively been a revolution in workplace culture where traditional ideas of the ‘office’ have been thrown off with its share of new advantages and new challenges. Given that change is in motion, could we go one step further with remote work and start working from holiday?
As more people than ever have been required to work remotely, the necessity of the office is starting to seem like an archaic idea. The past year has effectively been a revolution in workplace culture where traditional ideas of the ‘office’ have been thrown off with its share of new advantages and new challenges. Given that change is in motion, could we go one step further with remote work and start working from holiday?
Embracing the new landscape and choosing to work remotely brings with it some previously unimaginable benefits. You get to spend more time with the family, forming precious memories with plenty of fun, healthy activities. Your productivity is likely to increase while common inefficiencies like commuting and workplace distractions will be entirely removed. If your destination is secluded, you will likely keep yourself and others safe by reducing the spread of COVID-19. Even holiday destinations like Barbados, Estonia, Dubai and Croatia are embracing the change in work culture by offering pioneering new ‘digital nomad visas’ to attract remote workers for up to a year.
With many businesses not forecasting a return to the office until well into 2021, we consider the benefits and practicalities of working from holiday:
Choosing to work remotely from holiday takes the best aspects of an office job (structure, routine, productivity) and marries them with the enriching healthy pursuits of a holiday. When you need to work, you’ll be fully equipped to buckle down and when you want to relax, you’ll have all manner of healthy activities within arm’s reach.
Both your lifestyle and your work become flexible and prosperous. In dedicating time to reinvigoration and rest, you’ll be better equipped to perform well at work. If you’ve flown , you’ll have finished your day’s work around early afternoon, giving you the rest of the day to enjoy some luxury spa therapies or the regional cuisine. Remote working abroad is a great way of taking the best properties of time off and using them to reinvigorate your work and personal life.
Over the course of a month, the average commuter will spend over 24-hours commuting, whether that’s stuck in congested traffic, waiting on delayed trains or squeezing on to over-crowded buses. The commute for those working remotely from holiday is far less demanding, usually consisting of a gentle 20 second stroll from king size bed to sun-soaked al fresco desk.
This massive time saver allows you to redirect, at least, an extra hour a day into enriching hobbies that are within a stone’s throw of your accommodation. A change of scenery in itself can help you to build wellness activities into and around your working day Enhance your spirituality with an onsite meditation class, shift that stubborn belly fat with a personal training session or hit the waves with an early morning surf lesson. Swap soup on your sofa in your lunch break for a balanced and sumptuous meal cooked for you by accomplished chefs. Working from an illustrious destination means you no longer have to worry about what’s in the background of your zoom calls either! Working remotely from holiday maximises the amount of time you get to devote to the type of personal betterment that feels impossible to achieve with the demands of a high-pressure office job. Free up your time, ditch inefficiencies and look forward to finishing up your work day with the knowledge that your mental, physical and holistic needs will be catered for.
With travel as we once knew it changing on a day-to-day basis, saving for your annual holiday is out. Provided you have a good internet connection, there is no reason why you can’t earn whilst enjoying the benefits of a retreat in the sun. These unique times have provided an opportunity to work more flexibly whilst maintaining your income.
Before you flee your desk and make for the beach, it is important to bear in mind the potential tax and visa requirements for a working holiday. If your holiday is for two weeks then working remotely is of no concern but if you are planning a longer overseas working stay you will need to familiarise yourself with the labour laws of your destination.
Some countries, in light of the demand for remote work, have introduced special ‘remote work visas’. Dubai and Barbados both offer up to a year of remote work for a one-time visa fee and proof of income.
For those with children, working from home has presented both positives and challenges alike. Parents have been able to enjoy more time with their little ones, sharing milestones and making memories. On the flip side, managing childcare and home-schooling whilst also trying to be a productive employee has been a daunting task for parents too.
This is where working from holiday could provide a conducive solution that suits the whole family. With many resorts offering dedicated children’s programmes, kid’s clubs and babysitting services, you can get on with your working day safe in the knowledge that your little ones are entertained and cared for. This also means you’ll have more time to bond and make precious memories once you’ve clocked off.
A family holiday is not only fun but beneficial for everyone’s health. It’s vital for the development of children who need interaction with their parents to develop their communication and social skills. Studies have found that parents who socialised more regularly with their families when younger, showed greater cognitive ability and better cardiovascular function as they grew older.
The pandemic has brought many things into sharp focus, not least the time we get to spend with our families. Where you may have just managed to get home in time to tuck your children into bed before, working remotely offers greater opportunities to be there to watch them grow day-by-day
The If you have to work remotely then why not choose to do it in a dream destination?
Caribbean Islands like St Lucia or Turks and Caicos are warm, secluded, picturesque destinations in which to ride out the storm. With plenty of sun, good food and few people, a remote working holiday in the Caribbean is a tropical haven of revitalisation. These islands also have a far lower COVID rating that the UK. Keeping away from highly populated areas with a Caribbean holiday in a secluded spot will dramatically reduce your likelihood of contracting the disease and will help to curb the spread of the pandemic.
As we learnt from the national lockdown of March, April and May, staring at the same four walls can be extremely demotivating{/lang} A remote working holiday could be just the thing you need to shake off the cobwebs and supercharge your performance. If you’re interested in a healthier, happier and safer lockdown, a remote work holiday may just be for you.
Remote workers have been proven to be happier and more productive. An experiment by Stanford Business School of over 16,000 employees found that productivity increased by 13% when they were given the option to work remotely. The flexibility of remote work on holiday allows you to address your every need more efficiently. Ditch distractions at home for the soothing background sound of gently rustling trees or the lapping of waves on the shore.
A richer, fuller down time will enhance your work further. The kind of regular exercise you get on a fitness retreat raises your natural alertness and energy levels. Despite what you might think, working remotely on holiday actually increases your productivity. It’s well known that when your mental, physical and spiritual needs are catered for, you work more efficiently!
Monotony and routine can be crushing for one’s enthusiasm for a particular type of work. Even the most devoted and competent of workers can lose their passion for their job due to the tedium of regularity. As Ron Livingston in Office Space said, “it’s not that I’m lazy, it’s that I just don’t care.” Workplace disaffection is common and the main cure is some form of positive variation.
Working from holiday is a change of lifestyle, of landscape, of environment and a chance to reignite your enthusiasm. Travel stimulates the mind, boosts confidence and enriches one’s emotional maturity. The longer you continue to work remotely, the more lasting the benefits of travel become.
If you’re struggling at work or losing interest, this may be the perfect time to take a flexible, work-friendly retreat. When a good night’s sleep or an extra cup of coffee won’t do the trick, a remote working holiday may be the secret to revitalising your energy levels.
Trading working from home for working from an island paradise may sound lovely in principle but is it really possible? With a helping hand from a wellness holiday specialist, your holiday can be tailored to fit the requirements of even the most demanding job. Programmes like Mindful Triathlon allow you to pick and choose from a breadth of enriching activities that are then sculpted together to form your vision of the perfect bespoke holiday. Activeness, mindfulness and balance can be brought together to fit around your work schedule so you never have to miss out on restorative yoga, sunrise walks or bootcamp training.
Our travel specialists will work with you to gage what you’re looking for in a working-from-holiday break, arranging everything from flights to activities, meals and more. All you have to do is show up!
Far from a temporary fad, remote work is set to become the enduring norm. The myriad benefits are already present in the minds of employers and employees but we can expect it to snowball further. Working from holiday brings new benefits to the remote working lifestyle without any drawbacks. Employees get to pursue healthier, happier hobbies while maintaining or even increasing their productivity. The high-pressure 9-5 of noisy offices, busy commutes and time drains are a thing of the past. Technological advancement over the past 20 years has created a workplace revolution that is showing no signs of slowing down. Embrace the benefits of the modern world by saying goodbye to working from home and hello to working from holiday.
Talk to one of our Travel Specialists on or contact us here to discuss tailor-making your perfect wellness working holiday.
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