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THE WORKCATION trend is increasing in the new normal era where people bring their “offices” to places that are usually used as tourist destinations.
Aldilano Bryan Kautsar who works in the insurance sector is the one who since last year has been living while working on the Island of the Gods. Workcation in Bali was actually not planned from the start. He and his wife, who was newly married, decided to honeymoon in Bali.
“Because of the initial PPKM, we couldn’t go back to Jakarta, we decided to do full WFH (work from home) here, after that it was continued,” said Aldi.
Incidentally, he and his wife were not required to work in the office during the pandemic. Their workspace is now no longer in the building, but in the villa, the mountain to the beach. When tired, they simply walk to the beach which can be reached in less than five minutes and return when the mind is refreshed.
“The work-life balance is still here, because the hours are faster, so the day starts earlier, when the Jakartans just wake up, we’ve cleaned up and started working first,” said Aldi, who has no intention of returning to Jakarta as long as he is not required to work in Jakarta.
Another advantage of working in Bali is that traffic is friendlier and closer to various destinations. Mountains to the coast can be reached more easily and quickly. No more stories about being stuck in traffic when going to and from work.
“If there (Jakarta) at night it feels ‘tangle’,” he laughed. And the destination is reachable, it doesn’t run out of time on the road. A good internet connection is an important factor that makes Bali the right place for a workcation. “The internet provider is okay,” he added.
So far, Aldi sees more and more people from other cities like Jakarta who are also living a similar lifestyle to him: working from vacation.
Marsya, a Jakarta employee, stayed two weeks in Bali before returning to the capital after going to East Nusa Tenggara. The presence of friends who can be invited to live together is an important factor in Marsya’s workcation this time.
“I have a friend who works a lot in Bali, he is also still renting an inn, so we ended up together, he and I were with our respective husbands,” said Marsya.
The boredom of working in Jakarta prompted him to try working while on vacation on the island of the Gods, plus the number of COVID-19 cases was also on the decline. Initially Marsya intended to stay a month in Bali, but she failed because her office had already started working from the office.
The first week he still felt his work style was similar to when he worked from home in Jakarta. He spent most of his time in the villa working. Finally, Marsya decided to create a routine where work is balanced with fun activities. Every morning he goes to the beach or looks for breakfast before work.
“The spirit to explore new places gives color to the work routine in Bali. Because the holiday air can be visited by many places while working, there is a spirit of opening a laptop while seeing new sights,” he said.
Not to mention that he happens to have a lot of friends working in Bali, so he sometimes finds time to meet and work together.
“Balancing life and work is easier in Bali, because there are many interesting activities to do besides work. If you’re in Jakarta, it seems like you’ve opened your laptop since morning and haven’t gone anywhere, haven’t been able to eat properly and have gone straight to work because you’re confused about what else to do,” he said.
Before deciding for a workcation, it is important to consider the location of the inn and the facilities that support working remotely. Look for accommodations that fit your individual budget.
Marsya added, finding the right workmates and having fun together is equally important. I see if there are friends or not, if it’s just the two of us with my husband, it feels like everyday.
Don’t forget to make a list of places you want to visit so that expenses are more controlled. One more thing about the time difference, if it’s just an hour difference, it doesn’t matter, if the hour difference is a bit too much trouble. For example, the meeting in Jakarta at night, here we are already sleepy,” he said.
Online travel bureaus noted an increase in demand for workcations that occurred not only during the long weekend period, but also on weekdays. Traveloka Head of Corporate Communications, Reza Amirul Juniarshah said this trend is indeed increasingly in demand.
“Tourists work from tourist destinations during weekdays, supported by adequate facilities provided by hotel property managers, such as stable wifi connections and working stations,” said Reza.
Meanwhile, Public Relations Manager of tiket.com, Sandra Darmosumarto, said that the trend of staycations and vacations near home is still the current preference of the people.
Meanwhile, Public Relations Manager of tiket.com, Sandra Darmosumarto, said that the trend of staycations and vacations near home is still the current preference of the people.
“When referring to internal data, we also see that for now, Indonesian people still choose to vacation in their homeland, even though international borders are starting to open for Indonesian tourists.”
Towards the end of the year, Sandra revealed that bookings for the end of 2021 from flights, accommodation and To Do tickets increased by 11% compared to year-end bookings in 2020. “This shows that the Indonesian people are increasingly confident in going on vacations/travels while still implementing health protocols.” [antaranews/photo special]
