Startup Toss Lab's 5-Day Jeju Island Workation
High Demand for Workation Packages Amid COVID-19
6 out of 10 Koreans Willing to Try Workation
"Helps Employee Welfare and Team Building"... Tourism Industry Also Takes Notice
Toss Lab employees who went on a 4-night, 5-day workation to Jeju Island last month [Photo by Toss Lab]
"Receiving new stimuli in a new space also helped improve both individual and team productivity."
Employees of Toss Lab, a startup operating the work collaboration tool 'JANDI,' went on a 4-night, 5-day workation trip to Jeju Island last month. Workation is a work style that recognizes working from a vacation spot, a portmanteau of work and vacation. As the era has opened where one can work anywhere with just a laptop and internet, workation is becoming a new trend in the industry.
The workation, attended by five Toss Lab marketing employees, maintained an 8-hour workday, set clear work goals, and established the principle that individual rest must be respected. They communicated and collaborated with internal staff via collaboration tools and video conferencing. The difference from traditional workshops was 'flexibility.' Individuals proactively created and executed their leisure schedules. After work, they enjoyed local life according to their preferences, such as horseback riding experiences, sea road tours, making Omegitteok (a traditional rice cake), and hiking Hallasan Mountain. Toss Lab manager Kim Lanyoung said, "It was a time when I could immerse myself more deeply and enjoy work while feeling Jeju Island’s blue sea, fresh air, and abundant land."
◆'Workation' Gaining Attention in Domestic and International Tourism Industries = As workation emerges as a new work style in the COVID-19 era, related product sales are also increasing. Interpark Tour, in partnership with the Gangwon-do Tourism Foundation, launched a workation-specialized product in March, attracting over 8,000 nights of accommodation in two months. This was the result of cooperation with more than 130 hotels and resorts in Gangwon-do. Analyzing sales demand from March 30 to May 31, it was found that 8,238 nights were booked during this period. Encouraged by this high response, Interpark Tour recently opened Gangwon-do Workation Season 2, offering special prices on hotels and resorts in the Gangwon region. In a survey conducted by accommodation sharing company Airbnb targeting 1,010 Koreans, 61% of respondents expressed willingness to try workation.
The overseas tourism industry is also paying attention to workation. Airbnb predicted that due to the impact of COVID-19, "the boundary between work and travel will blur, and traditional vacation seasons will become less distinct." According to a survey of 1,010 American adults by Airbnb, 83% of respondents said they were willing to relocate as part of remote work. In fact, demand is increasing for booking long trips of two weeks or more to small cities with natural scenery and open spaces. Yano Research Institute forecasts that Japan’s workation market will grow from 69.9 billion yen last year to 362.2 billion yen by 2025. A survey by Japan’s Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism also found that 37% of respondents want to try workation.
◆"Helps Improve In-House Welfare and Teamwork" = According to Toss Lab’s workation preference survey this year, 50% of respondents who are aware of workation said it is necessary for companies to adopt it. They cited advantages of workation such as ‘improving in-house welfare levels (43%),’ ‘helping form and unite teams (28%),’ and ‘possible substitute for workshops (22%).’ Currently, the Korea Tourism Organization is also researching ways to revitalize domestic tourism using workation. A KOTRA official said, "Expectations for workation, where workers choose diverse and flexible ways of working, are increasing due to COVID-19." They added, "It allows freer choice of work locations and is expected to have a population dispersion effect by creating relocation from cities to rural areas."
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