Italy makes sense as a great destination for a workation but a study from Babbel has ranked Romania and North Macedonia in second and third place. Jenny Southan reports
From flexible working to four-day weeks, people are keen to find new ways of balancing their personal and professional lives.
As overseas travel becomes more accessible, it makes sense for remote workers to base themselves at overseas for a workation, combining laptop time with leisure time.
According to a survey from language learning platform Babbel, 56 per cent of Brits have either already taken, or are planning to take a workation. (That said, the survey was only of 100 people so has limited value in terms of extrapolation.)
Nevertheless, the survey also found that workations are most popular with 18- to 29-year-olds, with 88 per cent of people in this age group saying they would like to go on one if they haven’t already.
While people under 30 are more interested in taking a workcation than older Millennials and Boomers, for example, more than half of overall respondents said they had already been on a workation or planned to go on one in the future.
What is motivating people to take a workation? Babbel’s survey found that two thirds of people believe they would be more productive on a workation, while 46 per cent of respondents would go for better weather and 23 per cent would like to combine it with learning the local language.
Where are the most desired locations for workations in Europe?
When asked to rank European countries they found most appealing to take a workation in, Italy came out top…
| 1 | Italy |
| 2 | Spain |
| 3 | France |
| 4 | Switzerland |
| 5 | Greece |
| 6 | UK |
| 7 | Denmark |
| 8 | Norway |
| 9 | Portugal |
| 10 | Netherlands |
But what would it be like in reality?
Considering more than 500 metrics (including internet speeds, cost of accommodation, coffee and beer prices, number of restaurants, crime rate and average annual temperatures) across 43 European countries, Babbel made its own evaluation of where the best countries for workations would be… And again Italy came out top.
| 1 | Italy |
| 2 | Romania |
| 3 | North Macedonia |
| 4 | Germany |
| 5 | Bosnia and Herzegovina |
| 6 | France |
| 7 | Spain |
| 8 | Hungary |
| 9 | Portugal |
| 10 | Bulgaria |
Babbel says: “Exploring other cultures through travel and language is something everyone should be able to enjoy. And while becoming a digital nomad might seem like a drastic move, it doesn’t need to be.
“As the business world evolves, new ways of working ‘nomadically’ are emerging. If you like the idea of exploring other countries, cultures and languages without giving up your day job, a workation might be the perfect solution.”