In Italy, almost 1 in 10 workers continued to work even while on holiday. This is what emerges from Istat data, which in 2022 for the first time measured the presence of “holiday workers”, i.e. those who combine work and holidays: especially men, resident in the North-West, with a high level of education, self-employed workers or managers in the information and communication services sector or financial and insurance activities.
Who are “holiday workers”?
In recent years the phenomenon of “workation” has been growing, a neologism that combines work (work) and vacation (holiday). Unlike a trip carried out for professional reasons, this term refers to a trip carried out for personal reasons during which however work is also carried out. Born as a privilege of freelancers and workers with specific knowledge, the phenomenon spread rapidly during the COVID-19 pandemic thanks to remote working. Then the spread of smartworking made it accessible to more and more workers to the point that it has now become a new possible trend in the tourism sector.
In 2022, 9.7% of employed holidaymakers worked from their holiday location in any remote working mode (teleworking, smartworking or agile working) and Istat data allow us to draw a detailed profile of these holiday workers:
- Gender: More men (10.4%) than women (8.5%).
- Residence: prevalence of those living in the North-West (12.1%), while in the South the share drops to 5.5%.
- Education: over three times more common among those with a degree or other higher qualification (18.5%) compared to those with only a diploma or lower qualifications.
- Type of work: self-employed workers (16.5%) are more than double those employed (7.7%), but the highest peaks are among managers (37.2%) and entrepreneurs (37%).
- Sector: mainly in information and communication services (30.5%) and in financial and insurance activities (22.8%).
In summary, workation is a growing phenomenon, especially among those with high skills, and greater autonomy and work flexibility.
Why choose workation: pros and cons
Working on holiday can lead to several benefits:
- Greater productivity: Working in a relaxing environment, such as in a house by the sea or in a cabin in the mountains, can increase creativity and motivation.
- Greater flexibility: not being tied to fixed times and traveling through city traffic to reach the office allows you to better organize breaks and personal commitments.
- Less stress upon returning: continuing to work even on holiday avoids having to catch up on backlog of work when you return.
However, this innovative form of work can become a double-edged sword. Among the problems that are most often encountered are:
- Difficulty disconnecting: the temptation to check emails and messages after hours can lead to thinking about work continuously even during breaks
- Confusion between work and relaxation: the lack of a clear separation between the moments dedicated to work and those dedicated to holidays can increase stress and mental fatigue, if a balance is not found between these two aspects.
- Compromised vacation quality: Working in places designed for rest can reduce the pleasure of travel and the time spent enjoying the company of family and friends and having new experiences.
In practice, workation can be transformed into an opportunity to combine two aspects of life that were conflicting in the past: time for work and time for holidays. However, this combination must be evaluated based on your personal needs and the commitment required by your work activity: in fact, it does not turn out to be a boomerang only if you manage to find a harmony between work productivity and holiday relaxation.
