One third of UK office workers planning ‘workation’

A survey of 2,005 UK office workers conducted by Censuswide, on behalf of price comparison site Compare the Market in October 2022, found that over a third (35 per cent) of respondents are ‘likely’ to take a workation in the next year. Almost half (46 per cent) said that they had already taken one in the past year.

Workations – the practice of continuing to work regular hours while away from home or the office, either in your home country or abroad – has been rising since the pandemic, as remote working became more widespread.

Among those who have taken a workation in the past year, 31 per cent did so for a ‘change in environment’; 28 per cent were visiting friends or family; and 26 per cent did so to obtain a ‘better quality of life’.

By contrast, the top reasons discouraging people from taking a workation included accommodation costs (23 per cent); destination costs (20 per cent) and childcare responsibilities (20 per cent).

Over a third (37 per cent) also said that the rising cost of living was discouraging them from taking a workation – those who have taken a workation said the average cost per person worked out at £1,828, and the average trip lasted two and a half months.

Workations could breed resentment

However, almost half of all respondents (43 per cent) said that they are still unable to work remotely as their employer does not allow them to. More than a third (34 per cent) of respondents are also hesitant to request a workation from their employer, due to a belief that they would react negatively to the request.

Additionally, the practice could sow seeds of resentment among workers’ colleagues – a third (33 per cent) of office workers think colleagues on a workation are less likely to do the same amount of work. Two thirds (67 per cent) also felt irritated about the idea of doing extra work to cover for a colleague on a workation, while almost half (47 per cent)say they would feel frustrated about changing the time of a meeting to suit someone in a different time zone. Two in five (40 per cent) would also be unhappy to receive emails out of working hours.

Helen Phipps, Director at Compare the Market, advised that customers planning a workation should ensure that their travel insurance policies covered the full length of their trip, and that the policy remains valid if they are working abroad.