Is it time to take a remote work vacation?

During the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, working remotely became a necessity. But it didn’t give you much freedom when you could only get a change of scenery by going from one corner of your home to another. 

After more than a year of closed borders, travel bans, and stay-at-home orders, workers who are still remote have opportunity and some freedom. If you plan on making up for the year at home with a year of travel, you can — you’ll just need to set up the logistics to make it happen. 

Will your job let you keep working remotely? 

Early research indicates as much as 25 percent of businesses may keep remote work options for employees. A survey of more than 100 U.S. companies found that leadership considered remote work a success. Many small business owners don’t envision requiring everyone to go back to the office 40 hours a week, at least not yet. 

With unused vacation days accumulating, now might be the time to combine remote work with traveling the world. 

 Remote jobs that allow you to work from anywhere 

If you can work remotely from anywhere, there’s no reason not to mix business with a bit of pleasure. A change of scenery can boost productivity by breaking you out of a monotony-induced slump. 

Not every job can be accomplished hundreds of miles from the office. Front-line and service jobs don’t have the flexibility that other jobs provide. 

But with video calls, cloud computing, and virtual office services, some industries fit well with remote workers. They include: 

Computer and tech 

• Legal 

• Business and finance

• Arts and design 

• Office administration and support

• Architecture and engineering

Tools to help you travel while working

If you’re hoping to travel while working, ensure you pick a location with reliable internet service since it’s the thread that links you back to your job. Check to make sure the vacation rental or hotel has strong Wi-Fi signals and won’t bill you daily for its use.

If you’re traveling often or to somewhere rural, consider buying a data sim card or signing up for a Skyroam account, which would eliminate the need to hunt for connections. 

How to take care of your mail when traveling long term 

You might be able to lease out your home or leave as a lease ends, but that won’t tie up all your loose ends.

What happens to the letters and packages that arrive for you while you’re away -- or any payments you receive in the mail? Traveling shouldn’t leave you stressing about the things you left behind. If you plan to travel long-term or indefinitely, a virtual mailbox might help to set your mind at ease. 

Earth Class Mail offers virtual mailbox services perfect for extended vacations or long-term traveling.

A virtual mailbox receives physical mail on your behalf at an address you select, scans it, and provides it for your review. Unlike a P.O. box, a virtual mailbox comes with a physical address and can receive deliveries of all types. 

Can you run a business remotely while traveling?

Collecting a salary while working remotely is one thing. What about when you are the boss? If you run a small business, you can stay connected with remote employees while on a long-term vacation. 

It’s possible to even run your business while living abroad or traveling around the country. As long as you set up a system to have face-to-face time with employees through video calls and track productivity, why not operate your business from a vacation home or as you travel from one business location to the other?

When operating a remote-based business, you’ll need some way of keeping your operations centralized.

A fixed communication system, such as Slack or Microsoft Teams, that allows your team to communicate without flooding each others’ email inboxes can help keep your employees informed.

File transfer systems and group cloud storage will also help keep your business information accessible anywhere.

Like permanent travelers, a business mailing address can help keep your business’ home presence even without employees sitting up at an office.

Mail solutions for remote businesses 

No matter if you’re scrapping the office permanently or just traveling away from it for a while, a virtual mailroom can help automate your mail and keep a permanent home base while also streamlining other business operations. 

Earth Class Mail’s business solution, MailRoom, streamlines your operations to make managing your business while you’re away easy. 

You can set up automatic check deposit by mail services if you regularly receive payments in the mail. 

With MailRoom, your mail is sent to a virtual address, where it’s sorted at our secure processing facility. Then, it’s scanned and turned into a high-resolution PDF with full-text search capabilities. It's then sent to your inbox using the cloud storage software of your choice.

 Earth Class Mail integrates with Bill.com, Box, Dropbox, Google Drive, Xero, and QuickBooks, helping you maintain business-as-usual, no matter where you are in the world. The important documents you need hard copies of can be shipped anywhere in the world.

Taking a remote work vacation

Remote work offers you a sweet taste of freedom. Why not take advantage of it?

The remote work model made it possible for even the busiest of employees to enjoy some travel. And with Earth Class Mail, you won’t have to spend another moment fretting about the state of your mail while you’re away. 

Whether you choose to scan, shred, or ship your mail, you can rest assured that your private data is in good hands. You don’t have to worry about mail stacking up on your doorstep or a nosy relative rifling through your private documents. 

Whether you’re a business owner with a passion for travel or a remote worker that needs a vacation, Earth Class Mail can change the way you think about your mail. Discover the freedom that comes with a working life that allows short-term or long-term travel—choose your virtual address today!