WHO’SALL GOINGON AHYBRIDHOLIDAY?

Summer’s here so it’s time to put your feet up… and work. Matt Pluckrose examines how technologycan aidour changing work practices

Withfull-time office work adistant memoryfor manybusinesses around theworld, the opportunities to combine work withtravelhavenever been so widespread. As a result, we’reseeing moreand morehybrid and nomadic workers jump on an emerging trend that’sbeing referred to as the‘hybrid holiday’

In anutshell, this involvesindividuals adding anumberofremoteworking days on to their holidaytomaximise their time away.Infact, arecent surveyfromVirgin Media hasrevealed that almostathird (27%) of hybrid UK workersare planning to work remotely from Europe this year withjust overthree-quarters(76%) of those individuals considering ahybrid holiday.

Stay Connected

Likemanyelements of flexible and remote working, hybrid holidays have their pros and cons. While theblurredlines between work and leisureallowfor muchmoreflexibility and, in theory, abetter work-lifebalance, they can also makeitincreasingly hardto set healthy boundaries and fully unwind –whichisvital forkeeping engaged, productive and most importantly,happyand healthy

So let’sexplorethis trend and see howour industrycan help to equip and promotebrand reinforcement on thehybrid holiday.

Theessential to anyremoteworking involvesstaying connected andmaking sure your communication devicesare charged, protected andconnected to theworld.This provides marketers’withnumerous products forbranding such as backpackssome with built in solarpanels foranywherecharging, Apple AirTagstomakesureyou don’t lose your valuable IT equipment, even built in speakers fortaking thebeat withyou andof courseanti-theftfeatureslikehiddenzips

On Acharge

Stayingcharged is critical and thegrowth of Fast (PD) large capacitypowerbanks up to and over 20,0000 mAh means youcan charge your laptop and everything else your family has takenawaywiththem to stay entertained.Coupled withthese super power banks areultra-fast charging cables (using USB-C) whichmean acompleterecharge of adead phone batteryinless than 30 minutes.

Tech on themovewouldalso of course not be complete without awireless and Bluetoothmouse, portablelaptop stands andevenmicrofoldable secondLED screens that simplyconnecttoyour laptoportablet giving more visible space

Dial Down The Noise

Perhaps one of thekey items thoughisa pair of good quality wireless headphones or earbudswithActiveorEnvironmental noisecancellingbuilt in which helpsto enhance thosecallsdespiteloudand noisy environmentssuchasthe beach or poolside

There is awide arrayofthese itemsnow available from lowcosttosuper high end,all of whichcan be branded making sure your clients’ brandstays in view.Manyalsohave sustainablequalities whichisnow regarded as a‘must’ by manycompanies

Don’tforget hydration to stay mentally sharp during your hybridholiday.Tech has entered this area toowithsome smart connected waterbottlesthatremind you to drink and even glowdifferent colours to warn youwhenyou might be getting dehydrated.

Recycled Material

Sustainability is of course paramount in our sector andthe growingtrend forrecycled materialsinour gadgets and tech suchas OceanBound recycledplasticthathelps to stop theendless plasticwasteintothe ocean will become morepopularoverthe coming months and years. Leaders in this area are also contributing to globalcharities such as Plastic Bankwho with everypurchase not only prevent wasteentering theocean but alsosupport localcommunities that carry outthisimportantwork.

Onesuchexampleisthe OceanBottle range whichisanexcellent exampleof asocial cause with commercial venture. Many suppliersare recognisingthiswith othersadapting best-selling itemslike charge cables, powerbanksand wireless chargers to usethis resource of Ocean Bound Plastic, such as theOceanOctopus.

So theworld haschangedforever followingthe pandemic with working practices unlikely to ever be thesame. It’ssoimportanttherefore forour industrytobeaware of this andlook foropportunities to remind, show and explain howtechitems can match the demand forthisnew wayofworking.

Matt Pluckrose is managingdirector of Desktop Ideas