Remote work quickly transformed from a niche concept to a mainstream reality during the global pandemic, as lockdowns forced many offices to close, and companies embraced the work-from-anywhere models to keep business operations running smoothly. The shift was also fueled by technical advancements, enabling teams to cooperate from anywhere in the world. Today, the remote work trend continues to pick up steam since people enjoy the flexibility and freedom it affords. So, the number of digital jobs is expected to witness a 25% growth by 2030, reaching about 92 million. But how does remote work affect the travel landscape? Let’s sort things out.
Understanding Digital Nomads, Bleisure, Workcations, and Hush Trips
The ability to work while traveling is changing the way people think about their leisure time. If before employees perceived vacations as a way to escape job responsibilities completely, now, many combine work with relaxation and enjoy discovering new spots while continuing to do their jobs. Many people also leverage flexible schedules to take shorter but more frequent breaks. Such a blend of remote work and travel has resulted in new trends and buzzwords, such as bleisure, digital nomads, workcations, and hush trips.
Bleisure
Bleisure is a widespread practice that combines business and leisure travel. It allows employees to arrange a vacation before or after their business trip to explore new destinations and engage in local experiences. Such a trend has been driven by the craving for work-life balance, enabling people to make the most of their spare time. Companies, in turn, increasingly embrace bleisure to enhance employee retention and satisfaction.
Workcations
Workcations is a new buzzword aimed to denote working vacations. Unlike bleisure trips, workcations involve combining the process of working remote and traveling, when employees can recharge and enjoy a change of scenery while doing their job. Such practices help to maintain productivity, so companies support them by providing a number of guidelines and resources to ensure the experience is smooth and pleasurable.
Digital Nomads
Digital nomads are another trend rising in popularity today. The term refers to professionals who embrace the nomad lifestyle and do their jobs remotely while traveling across the world. Such work practices have gained wide acceptance as companies offer online work opportunities for employees seeking location-independent and flexible careers. Many countries also provide different incentives and special visas for digital nomads, creating new markets for long-term business travel.
Hush Trips
Even though hush trips represent a mix of remote work and travel, the concept differs from all previous options because employees do not inform their bosses about changing locations. A remote worker can do their job from anywhere they want – be it a picturesque mountain village or a tropical island – without telling the company that they are away. Supporters believe that such a way of traveling improves mental well-being and productivity due to its flexibility and spontaneity.
However, hush trips may also have certain risks (e.g., significant differences in time zones or poor internet connectivity can impact work quality). Therefore, some companies ban such practices.
Best Tips & Tricks on How to Work Remotely and Travel
An ability to work remotely does not always guarantee a trouble-free vacation. After all, work is work, so it’s important to think through all the possible challenges when planning your trip. The following tips and tricks will help you combine remote work and travel:
- Make sure you are connected: a reliable and stable internet connection is a must for remote workers, as it ensures seamless collaboration and communication with a team, as well as enables efficient task completion. Hence, check out your destination’s internet speed and availability in advance. Plus, consider investing in a portable Wi-Fi device.
- Harness the power of file management tools: use specialized online editors and converters to manage your files while traveling conveniently. The best of them offer advanced features designed to enhance the productivity of remote workers. So, you may find a top-quality DWG to PDF converter, like PDF Guru, that handles dozens of other formats and offers additional functionality (file editing, compression, password protection, e-signatures, AI summarizer, and more).
- Grab the right gear: setting up a convenient remote workspace to stay productive on a trip is important. Therefore, pack reliable gear to work comfortably wherever you are. Besides a phone and laptop, the recommended list includes a plug adapter, external battery, power bank, portable hard drive (SSD), and noise-canceling headphones.
- Plan your vacation wisely: traveling takes a lot of time, and it’s not just about transportation but also planning your routes and activities. With that in mind, make sure you have enough time to both complete your tasks and take a rest – explore new surroundings, have fun with locals, you name it.
Final Thoughts
Remote work is reshaping the travel landscape, providing employees with more freedom and flexibility in doing their jobs. The industry is expected to witness an even bigger shift in demand in the following years, with a greater emphasis on the emerging trends of workcations and bleisure. So, if you have never worked remotely, now is the best time to try it!
