Working It

You’ve seen them, surely. These days, you can’t log into social media without scrolling past laptop-toting travelers with enviable tans and tales to match. Maybe your friends are even posting mid-week selfies from Italian trattorias or Brazilian beach towns, where grabbing after-work drinks means caipirinhas in the sand. “If you can work from anywhere,” such images seem to ask, “why not work from everywhere?”

Combining travel with work is a significant trend, says Steve King, founding partner at Emergent Research, a consulting firm that has tracked remote workforce data since 2005. In past years, remote workers were often independent contractors. Now, the demographic is changing.

“The growth of people with traditional jobs becoming digital nomads has skyrocketed,” King says, noting that new services, from coworking spaces to remote-work coaches, are making the transition easier. “There’s a whole industry that’s enabling remote work in a way that’s much stronger than it was before,” he says.

Some workers are seeking more than a great vacation: there’s evidence that taking work on the road could boost your on-the-job performance.

“When you’re in a high-stress environment, it’s really hard to come up with creative ideas,” says Jaime Kurtz, a professor of psychology at James Madison University and author of the book “The Happy Traveler: Unpacking the Secrets of Better Vacations.” “Travel, because it tends to help people relax and foster positive emotions, can broaden people’s cognitive flexibility, which is essentially creativity — just kind of thinking outside the box,” Kurtz says.

Such experiences may also translate to a more positive perspective on work, an essential takeaway at a time when burnout rates are high. A 2022 study by MBO Partners found that digital nomads are among the workers most satisfied with their jobs, a trend that holds true regardless of how much money they make.

Working remotely lets you go farther, stay longer and experience travel from a fresh perspective. And while so-called digital nomads often travel for months or years at a time, for most of us a smaller scale “workcation” is a more practical way to get a taste of the lifestyle. That could mean packing your laptop for a month away from home or just two weekends away bridged by a few days of work. Pulling it off, though, requires a bit of strategy and some advance planning — we talked to remote-work experts on how to do it with style.

Pick Your Place

“Most people are really excited that they get to work remotely, so they want to go everywhere,” says Dina Pyramid, a digital nomad coach who offers guidance to would-be remote workers. But before you start spinning the globe, Pyramid cautions, consider the clock. If you keep a regular office schedule, you’re better off staying within a few time zones of home, a guideline that still leaves popular spots in Mexico, South America and the Caribbean within reach. Quick internet is another key; some would-be remote workers ask hoteliers or short-term rental hosts to run a download-upload speed test before booking.

Pyramid also recommends that instead of ticking off a bucket-list of destinations, travelers choose one — maybe two — locations and use their time for slower, more immersive stays.

Transit between destinations cuts into your valuable free time, those days when you might rather be wandering art galleries or practicing your salsa moves.

“If you hopscotch from place to place, you don’t have time to work and visit everywhere you want to go,” she says. Staying longer can also translate to deeper experiences with the places you visit, with opportunities to meet the locals, pick up a few words of a foreign language and see more than you can when simply passing through.

Get Expert Help

Working from a hotel bed covered in room service trays might be fun for a few hours, but getting things done requires a desk and a few key upgrades.

Fortunately, there’s a growing global network of coworking spaces, from brands including Regus, WeWork and Spaces, where you can plug into a ready-made community of remote workers.

And now, many luxury destinations are meeting demand for worker-specific perks. Some Four Seasons properties are participating in the brand’s Work at Leisure program, providing worker-friendly gear such as office chairs, in-room printers and onsite IT support. Belmond is encouraging longer stays with Embark Beyond, whose 30 to 180-day, fixed-rate stays include remote-office setups and a dedicated host at luxury properties from a Venetian hotel with views of St. Mark’s Square to an Andean lodge near Machu Picchu.

For a more curated experience, remote-work travel planners such as Workcation offer weeks-long trips that bundle accommodations, workspaces and on-the-ground support from a local host. Another recent startup is Sojrn, which adds themed cultural experiences ranging from Tuscan wine to Parisian fashion — think of it like a study-abroad program for curious grownups.

Manage Expectations

Don’t forget the “work” part. “You have to be kind of realistic in your expectations,” says Kurtz, noting that the alternative could lead to a serious let-down. “Don’t think of it as a traditional vacation where it’s going to be constant novelty and fun.”

At the beginning of a trip, map out a work plan with room for what you need to get done, while setting aside plenty of time for exploring your surroundings.

If you’re traveling with a family, friends or partner, clear communication is key to reducing scheduling conflicts. “If you’re taking someone with you that isn’t working, that means really making sure they’re on board with you,” Kurtz says.

Unplug, Actually

The downside to our newfound ability to work from anywhere? Leaving work behind is harder than ever. That poses a challenge for travelers who’d prefer not to field late-breaking emails from Parisian bistros.

“It’s really breaking your day into work time and not work time, and if we are tethered to our devices, it’s hard to do that,” Kurtz says.

Setting firm rules about how and where you work can let you truly immerse in the place you’re visiting.

After all, reaping travel’s greatest rewards requires a bit of focus. “Slowing down and putting your phone away … these are the things that just allow you to pay attention,” Kurtz says.

Start by putting your phone in airplane mode and taking a daily walk, she says; it’s a great way to experience the rhythm of a new place, and recent research findings suggest that outdoor walks can offer a serious creativity boost. Kurtz also recommends that travelers focus on “savoring,” a mindful approach to noticing the novel things around them. That could take the form of a gratitude journal, a space to write down your daily encounters while on the road or even social media posts that share and celebrate small pleasures.

Whatever you do, treat it like a learning experience. Your first workcation probably won’t be your last.

Three Perfect Workcations

Pick A Palace  

Perched atop a medieval, fortified city on the island of Malta, The Xara Palace offers a discounted long-stay package that lets you live like (gainfully employed) royalty in a 17th-century property. Stay at the Relais & Châteaux hotel for 21+ days to enjoy an included 5-day car rental, wine tastings, waived room service fees and other perks designed for working vacations; rooms are equipped with laptop-friendly desks and high-speed Wi-Fi. For more information, visit xarapalace.com.mt.

Sample CDMX Flavors

Month-long trips to Mexico City by remote-work company Sojrn are a deep dive into the country’s culinary traditions, immersing travelers in UNESCO-listed gastronomic culture from mole to mezcal. You’ll have a chic apartment with the option to add membership at a nearby coworking space; activities include a tamales-themed cooking class, a Mariachi happy hour and a boat tour of Mexico City’s ancient island farms. For more information, visit sojrn.travel.

Desert Dreaming

Set in the high Sonoran Desert at the foot of Pinnacle Peak, Four Seasons Resort Scottsdale offers suites with private plunge pools and garden showers, as well as wood-burning outdoor fireplaces amid bristling cacti. It’s also part of the brand’s Work at Leisure program, and casita guest rooms feature workcation-friendly amenities including ergonomic desk chairs, additional lighting for videoconferences, in-room monitors and printers and access to the property’s IT team. For more information, visit fourseasons.com/scottsdale.