A quiet revolution is reshaping the British holiday, as a growing number of employees swap the standard fortnight abroad for extended 'workations' that blend professional duties with leisure travel. This trend, supercharged by the pandemic's shift to remote work, is seeing UK workers proactively negotiate time away from the office to explore new destinations without eating into their precious annual leave.
The New Face of the British Holiday
Katherine, a 48-year-old university conference manager, epitomises this shift. Her first foray into workationing came during a trip to Australia, where she secured her manager's permission to work remotely for two extra weeks from a friend's house. "I just think it's brilliant for work-life balance. It's a great way to have a change of scene – your evenings and weekends, you feel like you're on a mini-holiday," she explained, highlighting the mental refreshment gained from a new environment.
Contrary to the stereotype of the young digital nomad, Katherine represents a broad demographic embracing this flexibility. She now regularly arranges pet-sitting stints in different locations, allowing her to visit family and explore new cities over long weekends at minimal extra cost. Her experience underscores a key driver: trust-based autonomy. "I know my deadlines, my role and what I need to get done; that doesn't change if I'm at home or elsewhere," she noted.
From Informal Perk to Formal Policy
Research indicates this practice is moving from ad-hoc arrangement to established company policy. A survey by Grant Thornton forecasts a significant jump, with the proportion of businesses having a formal workations policy set to rise from 59% in 2023 to 77% in 2025. Supporting this, a Chartered Management Institute (CMI) study found that one in eight employers already have such a policy, while one in five managers have personally taken a workation.
Petra Wilton, CMI's Director of Policy, advises companies to "put clear, transparent rules in place and actively manage them" to build managerial confidence. The perceived benefits are clear: improved mental health and better work-life balance for staff. However, some employers express concerns over data security when employees work from unfamiliar locations.
Market demand is robust. A YouGov poll revealed that 37% of people who can work remotely are interested in taking a workation within the next year. The travel industry is responding; giants like Tui now feature dedicated 'workation' pages promoting hotels suited for a working holiday.
Blending Life and Work: Opportunities and Cautions
Daniel Wheatley, a researcher at the University of Birmingham, describes this as a move from 'work-life balance' to 'work-life blending', where boundaries are more fluid. He traces the 'workation' concept to a cultural convergence: the mainstreaming of travel since the 1970s, digital advances from the 1990s, and the seismic shift caused by Covid-19. It reflects, he argues, a "life first, work second" ethos, particularly among younger workers exploring non-linear career paths.
For business leaders like Ian Brown, a 58-year-old managing director, offering workations is a strategic perk that fosters loyalty and reciprocity. After working from a beach hut in Jamaica himself, he extended the option to his team. "It refreshes you and gives you an added perk," he said, adding that the anticipated drawback of unresponsive employees never materialised, instead yielding "extraordinary" positivity.
Yet, Wheatley sounds a note of caution. He stresses the importance of proper disconnection to ensure workations enhance "leisure time, social connectedness and wider wellbeing" rather than leading to constant digital monitoring. He also warns that such benefits risk deepening societal divisions, favouring knowledge workers while excluding those in precarious jobs or facing digital exclusion.
As hybrid work becomes entrenched, the workation looks set to become a permanent feature of the UK employment landscape, offering a novel solution to the perennial quest for more time and a better quality of life.
