VOA健康报道2024--US Workers Secretly Take ‘Workations’

US Workers Secretly Take ‘Workations’

From VOA Learning English, this is the Health & Lifestyle report.

In 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.

Workation 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.

During 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.

Corporate¹ 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.

Riekstins 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.

One 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.

The research suggested that 52 percent of employed Americans would use vacation travels as a chance to work remotely.

Riekstins said workations can be good for both workers and employers. For example, a workation can improve worker happiness by making life more interesting.

“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 stimulated³,” said Riekstins. “You start to be stimulated emotionally, mentally, and physically⁴, and then when you show up to work, you are more creative.”

Some hotel companies offer workation specials to boost business, especially during slower times.

Sandy 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.

In Georgetown, Maine, the 13-room Gray Havens⁵ Inn, which sits near the water, created a special program that aims to appeal to younger, remote workers.

“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.”

The 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.

“When they are done working, we help them find out what they like and create itineraries⁶ to help them see the things they want or should see with limited time,” she added.

A 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.

Gen Z is a name for the generation of people born in the late 1990s through the early 2000s.

Another 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.

Riekstins noted⁷ 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.”

Riekstins said he thinks more companies should accept remote work situations as a way to improve worker satisfaction and business productivity.

He 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?

Words in This Story

remote –adj. as in work, the practice of employees doing their jobs from a location other than a central office operated by the employer

rat race –n. strenuous⁸, wearisome, and usually competitive activity or rush

hospitality –n. activity or business of providing services to guests in hotels, restaurants, bars, etc. : usually used before another noun

stimulate² –v. to excite to activity or growth or to greater activity

boost –v. to increase in force, power, or amount

cottage –n. a usually small house for vacation use

attract –v. to pull to or draw toward oneself or itself

itinerary⁹ –n. the route of a journey or tour or the proposed outline of one

1 corporate   

adj.共同的，全体的；公司的，企业的

参考例句：

• This is our corporate responsibility.这是我们共同的责任。
• His corporate's life will be as short as a rabbit's tail.他的公司的寿命是兔子尾巴长不了。

2 stimulate   

vt.刺激，使兴奋；激励，使…振奋

参考例句：

• Your encouragement will stimulate me to further efforts.你的鼓励会激发我进一步努力。
• Success will stimulate the people for fresh efforts.成功能鼓舞人们去作新的努力。

3 stimulated   

a.刺激的

参考例句：

• The exhibition has stimulated interest in her work. 展览增进了人们对她作品的兴趣。
• The award has stimulated her into working still harder. 奖金促使她更加努力地工作。

4 physically   

adj.物质上，体格上，身体上，按自然规律

参考例句：

• He was out of sorts physically,as well as disordered mentally.他浑身不舒服，心绪也很乱。
• Every time I think about it I feel physically sick.一想起那件事我就感到极恶心。

5 havens   

n.港口，安全地方( haven的名词复数 )v.港口，安全地方( haven的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• Your twenty havens would back out at the last minute anyhow. 你那二十个避难所到了最后一分钟也要不认帐。 来自辞典例句
• Using offshore havens to avoid taxes and investor protections. 使用海面的港口避免税和投资者保护。 来自互联网

6 itineraries   

n.旅程，行程( itinerary的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Submit weekly status reports and monthly itineraries to Region Vice President. 每周递交工作报告，每月递交工作计划给总经理。 来自互联网
• Big Ticket ItemsBig Savings-Complex international itineraries can offer opportunities for significant savings. 复杂线路节省更多：复杂的国际航线其实有更多的省钱机会。 来自互联网

7 noted   

adj.著名的，知名的

参考例句：

• The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
• Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。

8 strenuous   

adj.奋发的，使劲的；紧张的；热烈的，狂热的

参考例句：

• He made strenuous efforts to improve his reading. 他奋发努力提高阅读能力。
• You may run yourself down in this strenuous week.你可能会在这紧张的一周透支掉自己。

9 itinerary   

n.行程表，旅行路线；旅行计划

参考例句：

• The two sides have agreed on the itinerary of the visit.双方商定了访问日程。
• The next place on our itinerary was Silistra.我们行程的下一站是锡利斯特拉。