[Jihye Choi's Trend] Workation: Where Are You Working?

I heard an interesting story from an acquaintance involved in local government and regional development projects. Recently, local governments have been actively providing or building shared offices and running their own programs. Why are local governments interested in offices? There are multiple reasons, but the most important point to consider is that it reflects the increasing diversity in work styles.

In fact, whenever Trend Korea is published, there is always curiosity about what kind of year the new year will be. Especially after COVID-19, interest in trends and forecasts has noticeably increased. From the perspective of analyzing trends, predicting the future is very challenging and requires caution, but one definite change that has become the new normal after COVID-19 is the ‘way of working.’ Although still limited, the culture of working at the same place at a fixed time is rapidly changing. It is clear that COVID-19 has accelerated this change.

A representative phenomenon is Workation. Workation is a portmanteau of Work and Vacation, referring to a new work style where one can work and take a vacation simultaneously at a desired location. It began to emerge as remote work and telecommuting increased due to COVID-19. Companies recognize work done during vacations, expecting to boost employees’ recharging and productivity. From the worker’s perspective, Workation is a sweet option. Haven’t we all imagined working while resting at a resort at least once? According to a survey conducted by the job platform JobKorea with 926 office workers, as many as 85.2% responded that they think positively about Workation.

Workation is especially an important trend for local governments because it is expected to revitalize local economies. The Gangwon-do Tourism Foundation held Workation accommodation product exhibitions with Interpark Tour in March and September 2021, and encouraged by the positive response, opened Gangwon-do Workation Season 2 in October of the same year. Hadong-gun in Gyeongnam has also been operating the ‘Oroti Hadong: Office Worker Stay-type Tourism Program’ since June 2021.

Nowadays, Workation is an issue for companies, office workers, and local governments alike. According to a report published by the Korea Tourism Organization in October 2021, social data mentioning Workation on Google and Naver is on the rise, especially sharply increasing after the onset of COVID-19. Analysis by the leisure activity platform Frip also supports the Workation boom. In December 2021, analyzing activity and search data of 1.2 million total subscribers, sales of Workation products combining coworking spaces and activities in Jeju increased more than twofold.

In fact, more companies are adopting Workation. Toss created a workspace for Workation in Namhae-gun, Gyeongnam. The center, remodeled from a branch school, has a workspace on the first floor and rooms for accommodation on the second floor, allowing team visits and accommodating up to 10 people. Yanolja has been implementing a permanent remote work system since June 2021, expanding hub offices, seat-sharing systems, and Workation. This is not just about startups. CJ ENM introduced a Workation system in October 2021, giving employees a chance to live in Jeju for a month, and is piloting the ‘CJ ENM Jeju Branch’ hub office in Woljeong-ri, Jeju City. Hanwha Life also adopted a Remote Workplace system, using an entire floor of Breed Hotel in Yangyang, Gangwon-do as a workspace, where employees can work while participating in healing programs such as yoga, meditation, and trekking.

As remote work styles like Workation expand, work tools and messengers for real-time communication are expected to become even more important. Many workplaces use Slack, widely used as an internal messenger, Notion supporting collaboration and cloud, and Zoom for video conferencing to fill real-time work gaps caused by Workation. In Korea, a three-way competition is underway among Toss Lab’s JANDI, Naver Works, and Kakao Work, with Toss Lab’s JANDI securing 300,000 client companies.

GitLab, a U.S. company with the world’s largest remote work culture, is famous for promoting remote work since 2014. More than 1,300 employees work scattered across 65 countries. In May 2021, GitLab published a Remote Work Report summarizing its remote work know-how, stating: “Millions of people are questioning traditional work forms and will make better choices about the future way of working. The important thing is to consider how to manage the transition to remote work.”

Indeed, COVID-19 has become an opportunity to question the way we work. Of course, this Workation trend cannot be applied to all workplaces. It remains limited to companies or jobs where the work process and results can be clearly demonstrated. However, the diversification of work styles represented by the Workation trend is clearly becoming the New Normal. Are we ready to respond to this new change? It is a moment to reflect.

Choi Ji-hye, Research Fellow, Consumer Trend Analysis Center, Seoul National University