The nature of work has changed dramatically in recent years. American workers were abruptly thrust onto a roller coaster of remote work, return to office, hybrid offerings, the end of business travel, the resumption of business travel, shifts in corporate culture, just to name a few. With those foundational changes came a shift in employee mindset about where and when they should work, and where they could work if the opportunity presented itself.
In fact, the working world has been ripe with new trends, “workcation,” “quiet quitting,” “…as employees seize greater autonomy in a more flexible work environment. One of the most recent trends in business travel, “bleisure,” or blended business and leisure travel, taps into workers’ cravings for travel while balancing their reluctance to actually take a full vacation and utilize PTO.
Howdy.com, a company specializing in nearshore talent sourcing, surveyed American workers on their opinions on work, travel, and blending the two. It turns out that ‘bleisure’ travel and work travel generally is a hit: when looking at the opportunity to integrate travel into work, 3 in 4 surveyed said they would work with international teams if it meant greater opportunity for bleisure travel, and 68% are more attracted to a job that encourages bleisure.
American PTO is often finite, with the average yearly amount being 18 days; workers utilize an average of 15 of those days, taking an average of two vacations a year. With over 1 in 5 feeling guilty taking any PTO off, bleisure is one way to make those PTO days stretch even further– 32% said they extended their work trip in the last year with some PTO.
Bleisure brings its own wellness benefits, also: 64% believe bleisure improves work-life balance, and others cited relaxation, fewer trip details, and less PTO. There’s also the benefit of a lower cost vacation, with many companies footing the bill for airfare and at least some lodging: so much so that nearly 1 in 5 wouldn’t be able to afford a vacation without bleisure travel.
Of those traveling for work in 2024, half are planning on extending their travel into a bleisure trip. But what does that look like? Workers will add an average of 4 PTO days to their trip, spending just under $4,000 on it, and most (67%) will stay at the same hotel as the work portion of their trip. Some also start the leisure portion early: 1 in 5 have confessed to ditching part of a work trip for a little R&R. Broken down by generation, 25% of Gen Z do this, followed by 21% of Millennials, 18% of Gen X, and just 12% of Boomers.
Business travel in general continues to be on the rise across the American workforce, with 2 in 5 traveling for work in 2024. While most destinations are domestic, 1 in 5 are either international or comprise of multiple trips both in and out of country.
Top benefits provided by the employer include a hotel room (85%), airfare (76%), a per diem stipend for food (74%), and transportation compensation (50%). That being said, 17% still believe their company doesn’t cover all necessary expenses. Others are trying to break the bank, with 32% confessing to spending more on travel because it’s on the company dime.
One thing is for sure: Americans want to travel, and they want to maximize their time when they do. 85% of workers think their jobs should offer a travel stipend to make travel that much easier. A similar amount think companies should provide a ‘free day’ when they do require travel for business. With remote jobs offering increased amounts of flexibility than ever before, the opportunity to blend work and leisure is appealing– and trending.
