Working from abroad - workation as a mobility flow benefit

This paper explores the status quo of the concept workation in Austria among business executives. The objective of this quantitative study is to gain an understanding of this dislocated work form. The following research questions were set to find answers to: 1) What is the status quo of the workation in Austria in times of multiple crises? and 2) Will the workation help employers to retain their workforce? Based on the data, for managers workation means recharging one’s batteries and at the same time working productively and efficiently. Additionally, this survey illustrates a possible way that organisations can retain the talent on their teams. Organisations offering workations accept that their managers and workforce will be out of the office for a while. Most managers stay away for less than a week. Three reasons given by managers to explain why the workation is a success are: 1) an increase in job satisfaction, 2) an increase in productivity and 3) improved work-life balance. We tested our hypotheses in a survey study of 178 respondents in Austria. H1.4, H2 and H3 were supported. The paper concludes with a discussion of whether workations will continue to be important for employers and employees in the future.