The rise of the ‘workation:’ Vacationers pack their jobs in their suitcase - The Globe and Mail

"53 per cent of the Canadian professionals who responded would work one to three hours a day while on holiday... more Canadian nine-to-fivers are using the increased flexibility that technology offers to travel while continuing to work at their full-time jobs from the road" limited Wi-Fi and spotty cellphone coverage. He simply makes do by setting up his calls in advance or letting people know the best times to reach him. purchasing a local smartphone and minutes so that area and international calls are much less expensive. He structures his day by getting work out of the way early so he feels free and then follows up when he has some down time in the evening to set up his calls for the next day. “You can become kind of obsessed with needing to stay completely tethered to back home and into a mindset that everything that’s coming down the wire is urgent,” Mr. Wood says. “If you get into that mindset, then you’re really defeating the purpose of going away and enjoying wherever you are.” While it may work for some individuals, she doesn’t see it as a healthy trend for employees and their families, or for the organization. It’s one thing to say you’re going on vacation and give your contact information in case an emergency arises, she explains. It’s another to say you’re going on vacation and taking four projects to finish while away. “If we work on vacation, we make it very difficult, if not impossible, to fully recover lost resources and energy,” “It’s important not to continually put yourself in a position where you feel obliged every minute of every hour to have to return a text, e-mail or a call,” Mr. Wood says. “You need to be able to structure your day in relation to what’s important and do that in the context of your clients.”