US Workers Secretly Take 'Workations'
2024-06-14
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1From VOA Learning English, this is the Health & Lifestyle report.
2In the United States, a quiet change is happening at work.
3Many workers are taking "workations."
4This is when employees work remotely from a vacation place without telling their boss.
5Workation combines the words "work" and "vacation."
6Another example is "staycation."
7This word describes when a person decides to stay home during vacation rather than traveling.
8During the COVID-19 pandemic, teleworking and remote work led people to re-think parts of their professional and personal lives.
9This increased the popularity of workations.
10Corporate trainer Rudi Riekstins works with businesses and employees.
11He told VOA the pandemic made people question what they really wanted in their work and personal lives.
12Riekstins said that as a result, some people started to feel like they wanted to avoid the busy, work-driven life sometimes described as a "rat race."
13And as people went back to work, they sought to have more control.
14One study by hospitality management company Mews found that about 29 percent of employees said they had worked remotely from a vacation place without telling employers.
15The study, carried out by market research company OnePoll, involved 1,000 American travelers and 1,000 American hotel workers.
16The research suggested that 52 percent of employed Americans would use vacation travels as a chance to work remotely.
17Riekstins said workations can be good for both workers and employers.
18For example, a workation can improve worker happiness by making life more interesting.
19"Productivity goes up by 70 percent on average when people are happier when they are working.
20And we see happy people when they're traveling because they feel stimulated," said Riekstins.
21"You start to be stimulated emotionally, mentally, and physically, and then when you show up to work, you are more creative."
22Some hotel companies offer workation specials to boost business, especially during slower times.
23Sandy Wieber owns the 17-room Bayfront Marin House in St. Augustine, Florida.
24She also rents out eight beach cottages.
25Wieber herself worked remotely for eight years and now offers workation services that she would have liked using.
26In Georgetown, Maine, the 13-room Gray Havens Inn, which sits near the water, created a special program that aims to appeal to younger, remote workers.
27"We have a lot of younger travelers, but not as many as we would like. This is part of the reason we started this program," said innkeeper Ali Barrionuevo.
28"I read about other hotels doing it, so we put it out there to see if we could attract people who were teleworking."
29The special includes 25 percent off the room rate for a seven-day stay.
30The room comes with daily breakfast, a welcome gift, and some food and drinks.
31Barrionuevo also provides advice and support for seeing the area and taking part in activities.
32"When they are done working, we help them find out what they like and create itineraries to help them see the things they want or should see with limited time," she added.
33A public opinion study carried out by ResumeBuilder.com found that one in six Gen Z workers used a false online background of a home office to fool their employer.
34Gen Z is a name for the generation of people born in the late 1990s through the early 2000s.
35Another study from 2023, found that 51 percent of Gen Z workers said they had worked remotely from a vacation place, but did not tell their employers.
36Riekstins noted that not all workations have to be secret.
37Some employers permit workations as long as employees get their work done.
38"A number of the organizations that I do currently work with don't care where their employees work, as long as they produce the results and it's done within the office hours."
39Riekstins said he thinks more companies should accept remote work situations as a way to improve worker satisfaction and business productivity.
40He said employers should be asking: Are workers happy?
41Are they able to work anywhere and still get the job done?
42Can companies get better products and better results with happier workers?
43And will this make them stay at the company?
44And that's the Health & Lifestyle Report. I'm Anna Matteo.
1From VOA Learning English, this is the Health & Lifestyle report. 2In the United States, a quiet change is happening at work. Many workers are taking "workations." This is when employees work remotely from a vacation place without telling their boss. 3Workation combines the words "work" and "vacation." Another example is "staycation." This word describes when a person decides to stay home during vacation rather than traveling. 4During the COVID-19 pandemic, teleworking and remote work led people to re-think parts of their professional and personal lives. This increased the popularity of workations. 5Corporate trainer Rudi Riekstins works with businesses and employees. He told VOA the pandemic made people question what they really wanted in their work and personal lives. 6Riekstins said that as a result, some people started to feel like they wanted to avoid the busy, work-driven life sometimes described as a "rat race." And as people went back to work, they sought to have more control. 7One study by hospitality management company Mews found that about 29 percent of employees said they had worked remotely from a vacation place without telling employers. The study, carried out by market research company OnePoll, involved 1,000 American travelers and 1,000 American hotel workers. 8The research suggested that 52 percent of employed Americans would use vacation travels as a chance to work remotely. 9Riekstins said workations can be good for both workers and employers. For example, a workation can improve worker happiness by making life more interesting. 10"Productivity goes up by 70 percent on average when people are happier when they are working. And we see happy people when they're traveling because they feel stimulated," said Riekstins. "You start to be stimulated emotionally, mentally, and physically, and then when you show up to work, you are more creative." 11Some hotel companies offer workation specials to boost business, especially during slower times. 12Sandy Wieber owns the 17-room Bayfront Marin House in St. Augustine, Florida. She also rents out eight beach cottages. Wieber herself worked remotely for eight years and now offers workation services that she would have liked using. 13In Georgetown, Maine, the 13-room Gray Havens Inn, which sits near the water, created a special program that aims to appeal to younger, remote workers. 14"We have a lot of younger travelers, but not as many as we would like. This is part of the reason we started this program," said innkeeper Ali Barrionuevo. "I read about other hotels doing it, so we put it out there to see if we could attract people who were teleworking." 15The special includes 25 percent off the room rate for a seven-day stay. The room comes with daily breakfast, a welcome gift, and some food and drinks. Barrionuevo also provides advice and support for seeing the area and taking part in activities. 16"When they are done working, we help them find out what they like and create itineraries to help them see the things they want or should see with limited time," she added. 17A public opinion study carried out by ResumeBuilder.com found that one in six Gen Z workers used a false online background of a home office to fool their employer. 18Gen Z is a name for the generation of people born in the late 1990s through the early 2000s. 19Another study from 2023, found that 51 percent of Gen Z workers said they had worked remotely from a vacation place, but did not tell their employers. 20Riekstins noted that not all workations have to be secret. Some employers permit workations as long as employees get their work done. "A number of the organizations that I do currently work with don't care where their employees work, as long as they produce the results and it's done within the office hours." 21Riekstins said he thinks more companies should accept remote work situations as a way to improve worker satisfaction and business productivity. 22He said employers should be asking: Are workers happy? Are they able to work anywhere and still get the job done? Can companies get better products and better results with happier workers? And will this make them stay at the company? 23And that's the Health & Lifestyle Report. I'm Anna Matteo. 24Dora Mekour reported this story for VOA News. Anna Matteo adapted it for VOA Learning English. 25_____________________________________________________ 26Words in This Story 27remote -adj. as in work, the practice of employees doing their jobs from a location other than a central office operated by the employer 28rat race -n. strenuous, wearisome, and usually competitive activity or rush 29hospitality -n. activity or business of providing services to guests in hotels, restaurants, bars, etc. : usually used before another noun 30stimulate -v. to excite to activity or growth or to greater activity 31boost -v. to increase in force, power, or amount 32cottage -n. a usually small house for vacation use 33attract -v. to pull to or draw toward oneself or itself 34itinerary -n. the route of a journey or tour or the proposed outline of one 35We want to hear from you. Have you ever taken a "workation"? Do you have this word in your language? Share in the Comment section, where you can also practice the vocabulary from the story. 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