Have you been trained to switch?

Let's start with the basics.

All work and no play make Jack a dull boy and Jill, a dull girl.

Enter, vacations. Wait, workations. No, wait, they are 'bleisure' trips. Okay, fine! This is officially open for debate.

Everyone loves vacations. It all starts with summer and winter breaks from school. I loved those outings and short family trips to places with some more family members or places that our parents wanted (us) to see. Not that I am complaining. I mean my vacations meant my working parents got some time off from the monotony of their work and home balance as well.

This brings us to today. A time when we love the concept of creating a portmanteau because we are meant for more and one word cannot do justice to how we feel. That brings us to a scenario where you're all grown up and on a work trip and of course, you cannot miss extending it by a day or two. Why? Because you were visiting a city for a conference and you just need to check out a few places or at least collect souvenirs for people waiting back home. That's cute, right?

Okay, I promise this build-up will make sense, now. Because today, we are ready for a switch. Talk about a work-life balance and the pandemic got us ready to switch from one thing to the next in seconds. I promise I'm still talking about work and life. At least, that's what the reports say. Vacations have taken a backseat and workations seem more promising for people in line. But let's talk about biases.

According to a survey by a US travel services company, 80% of people who had taken a workation last year, felt the trip had boosted their productivity?and creativity. More than 66% said the purpose of this trip was to recover from work-related stress and explore a new place. And given the benefits, workations have become a permanent practice now. But when work accompanies you on a break, this concept of a 'bleisure' trip seems kind of counterintuitive, right?

That's precisely why workations should not replace actual holidays. Because you need and deserve a no-work time off. If vacations do replace workations, you run the risk of burnout. Inserting an Expedia survey that was released in February. Even though 78% of Americans aim to feel ‘unproductive’ during a holiday, half of them bring their laptops with them. The other 41% dial into Zoom calls and most of them are not happy about it. It even stretched to a 61% of respondents who said they didn’t consider trips that combined work and play to be proper holidays.

I don't know but I was expecting nothing less than what that statistic quotes. For those of you inclined to take that workation anytime soon, you'd be happy to know how many more folks from different countries feel the same. Sharing the Statista snapshot for workation intention in selected countries worldwide.

So, now the challenge is overcoming guilt for people who still value work-free vacations, but struggle to pull them off. I recently read a Linkedin post by a professional who was asked to take charge of certain meetings on behalf of her manager. The manager was out in the hills, on vacation, with the family. Nevertheless, the manager tuned into the first meeting from her hotel room, because she felt she had some time to spare when she was up while others were asleep. The team was happy to have her join in but they grew uncomfortable because that wasn't the culture they wanted to endorse. Would they be expected to spare time for work during a break? If tables turned, were they looking forward to becoming leaders who are always on? Isn't there an off switch? Thankfully, the professional who posted this, shared that she communicated this to the manager on a separate call where she stood corrected and agreed to enjoy the rest of her time off.

I've shared statistics from the US but here are some more from other countries. Last year, about 85% of 3,000 Indian workers reportedly took a workation. Over a quarter of Canadian workers?say they want to take one?this year. I could not find the statistics for 2022 so far but I already have my reservations. No really. As a matter of fact, I do. And it's a mix of a workation and a vacation. So keep your fingers crossed for the final verdict from me.

Till then, I'd love to know your take on workations over vacations. Have you been trained for the switch?