The origin of the term "Workation" (ワーケーション).

Workation"Workation" is a coined term that combines "work" and "vacation," referring to a work style where one takes a vacation at tourist or resort locations while engaging in telework (remote work). It is distinct from telework done from home or in rental offices.

(Reference source:https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E3%83%AF%E3%83%BC%E3%82%B1%E3%83%BC%E3%82%B7%E3%83%A7%E3%83%B3）

The term "workation" itself seems to have originated in the 2000s, primarily in Europe and the United States, so it is not a recently coined term. Similar terms include "resort work" and "breezer."

Reasons why workations are gaining attention

Many people, such as creators (engineers, designers), who can work with just one internet-connected PC, have likely thought at least once, "I want to work in a location-independent way."

In the spring of 2020, the coronavirus began to spread, and an emergency declaration was issued on April 16, 2020, leading to an increase in "remote work," especially among IT companies. At the same time, many people may have felt that "work can be done fully remotely" and "meetings can be held online without any issues."

The author had been doing "remote work" 2-3 times a week even before the coronavirus outbreak, but I thought full remote work was impossible because there were tasks such as meetings and contract signing that required visiting the office or clients. However, due to the spread of the coronavirus, all meetings and contract work switched to online, leading to a dramatic change in the world where "location-independent work = being able to work remotely from tourist destinations = workation is possible."

Individual-type workation and corporate-type workation

While individual workations have been the mainstream, I believe that corporate workations, where companies conduct workations as a unit, will become more common in the future. Recently, workations aimed at attracting metropolitan area companies to local regions have also been gaining popularity.

At Workations, we consider a development retreat where engineers gather to focus on product development as a corporate workation.Development CampFor a detailed explanation, see below:

To startup and new business leaders: Products that change the world are born from development retreats.

What effects does workation bring to the world?

I believe that the effects of the currently popular workation on the world are largely twofold.

For the accommodation, regional revitalization.

The spread of workations will increase the number of people visiting the region (related population). Users will stay in the area while working, leading to an increase in usage on weekdays and other times. Additionally, corporate workations are also expected to increase, resulting in a rise in related populations and related companies, which is believed to have an impact on the local economy.

For users, work style reform

From the user's perspective, workations allow them to experience the extraordinary at their accommodation and refresh themselves through activities, and it has also begun to be proven that workations improve work efficiency. Additionally, by participating in local side jobs during a workation, it is believed that performance in their main job may ultimately improve as well.

Source:"Workation" leads to improved work efficiency and reduced stress - Results from a demonstration experiment by NTT Data Management Research Institute and others.

If you're going to workation, I recommend staying multiple nights.

At Workations, we recommend "staying for multiple nights in a city you haven't visited yet for a workation." If you only stay for one night, it tends to become just a sightseeing trip, so we suggest a stay of three nights or more, including weekends, if possible. By staying for three nights or more, you can enjoy both work and sightseeing. Additionally, some local governments have started to subsidize the accommodation costs associated with workations. We encourage you to take this opportunity to experience a workation!

Perfect for workations. Recommendation for extended stays.

Let's find a workation destination that suits you.

Workations lists accommodations suitable for workations across the country. You can search by options and types of accommodations.

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