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Anyone paying attention can see it everywhere: employees are not just looking for a good salary, but also for a way of working that gives them energy.

That is not a passing trend. It reflects a clear shift in what people value in their work. Flexibility, autonomy, relevance, work-life balance, and room to recharge are moving higher and higher up the wish list. Especially at a time when heavy workloads, long days packed with meetings, and the mental strain that comes with them are the norm rather than the exception for many people.

For employers, that is an important signal. If you want to attract and retain talent, traditional benefits alone are no longer enough. Competition in the war for talent is not standing still either, and strong candidates are becoming harder to find.

Employees do not necessarily want to work less, but they do want to work smarter

In Greece, 12.4% of employees regularly work 49 hours or more per week, followed by Cyprus at 10% and France at 9.7%. The Netherlands is clearly lower, at around 5% to 6%. At the same time, a different shift has been visible here for years: work-life balance, flexibility, and the ability to combine work with daily life carry significant weight in how younger generations, and increasingly older generations as well, want to organize their working lives. That says a great deal about what employees value today.

The need is not simply: “I want to work less hard.”
It is more like: “I want to do my job well, without losing myself along the way.”

That is why employees are increasingly looking for:

• more flexibility in where and how they work
• more control over their energy and focus
• more room for recovery
• more trust and autonomy
• more balance between performance and recharging

In other words: not less ambition, but a healthier way to make that ambition sustainable.

The bar for good employment practices is higher

Where employee benefits once focused mainly on salary growth, vacation days, and retirement plans, employees are now looking more broadly. Of course, those foundational benefits still matter. But they are no longer distinctive enough on their own.

Today, being a good employer is also about one question:

How do you help people perform well in a sustainable way?

That touches on themes such as:

• energy
• mental fitness
• engagement
• connection
• flexibility
• job satisfaction

Employers that respond to those needs often build stronger teams, greater loyalty, and lower absenteeism. Not because employees are asked to do less, but because they are better supported in how they work.

A Workation fits surprisingly well into that picture

A Workation is still too often seen as a novelty, a modern gimmick. Something fun that probably does not fit our company, a little trip with laptops and good coffee.

But when it is designed well, a Workation is much more interesting than that.

It is, in fact, a modern employee benefit that responds directly to the very needs employees are expressing more and more often. A Workation offers something many people struggle to find in their normal work routine: space to focus on relevant knowledge or a meaningful project, distance from day-to-day chaos, renewed energy, and a better balance between work and recovery.

And all of that without work coming to a halt. In fact, people often accomplish far more than would normally be thought possible in the usual office environment.

In fact, employees who are professionally supported through Workations as a secondary employment benefit are often able to think more clearly outside their regular routine, set sharper priorities, and finally make progress on work and projects that never get enough room in the rush of daily operations. (KPMG – Beyond the Office: Embracing the Hybrid Future)

What you are really offering as an employer

When you use a Workation strategically as an employee benefit, you are not just offering a different location. You are offering something bigger.

You are offering:

• room for deep focus and organizational priorities
• time for strategic and independent thinking
• restoration of mental energy
• stronger connection within teams
• new inspiration outside the daily context
• a sense of appreciation and trust

That is what makes it powerful. Because employees are not just looking for security — they are also looking for employers who understand what people need in order to keep performing well.

A Workation shows that, as an employer, you look far beyond physical presence alone. It shows that you care about output, well-being, and sustainable employability.

That is exactly why this is becoming more relevant

Many organizations are looking for ways to remain attractive as employers. In a labor market where good people have options, it makes sense to look beyond standard benefits or so-called modern perks that only a small share of employees actually use because the need for them is far from universal  things like discounts on groceries, gas, fitness, e-bikes, home sustainability upgrades, or even a trip to the hairdresser. Choosing a Workation makes you stand out as an employer and aligns strongly with the interests of your workforce. It also tells potential applicants something about your culture: autonomy, teamwork, self-development, and work happiness clearly matter within your company.

Even if you employ operational or factory staff in addition to office staff, there is still a way to make this work with the right approach. For every employee and every group of employees, the right type of Workation can be organized in a way that delivers returns for the individual, the team, and the business.

A Workation can therefore become a distinctive secondary employment benefit that gives your company an immediate and recognizable competitive advantage.

From nice extra to strategic choice

The most interesting employers today are not only thinking about what employees earn, but also about what employees need in order to be at their best.

And that is exactly where the strength of a Workation lies.

Not as work disguised as a vacation.
Not as a casual outing.
But as a deliberate choice to give employees room for focus, energy, development, and balance. It is about working on concrete assignments and projects that keep getting pushed aside in the rush of daily business, even though they are too important or too strategic not to be tackled seriously.

Because in the end, employees do not just want work that pays well.
They want to make relevant contributions to a company they genuinely enjoy working for.
And they want work that fits a life that feels good.

And that is exactly what a Workation  tailored to the needs of your company and your employees, and organized the right way can provide remarkably well.

Curious what a Workation as an employee benefit could look like for your team or organization?

We make Workations practical, concrete, and successful as part of your HR policy  in a way that works for the individual, the team, and the business. We work with a scientifically grounded model (Life in Three Dimensions, Oishi 2025).

TheWorkationers.
More energy. Happier people. Better business.
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