Unfortunately, for most of the population, the rising cost of living doesn’t allow for much flexibility when trying to achieve a work-life balance. Enter the “workation” – a way to break the monotonous cycle of work by turning any location, anywhere in the world, into your home office.

For those wanting to live a balanced life of business and pleasure, teaching English abroad presents an ideal option.

“People are determined to live a more fulfilling life, that doesn’t only consist of work and sleep – and Gen Zs are leading the charge. Their desire to maintain healthy boundaries between dedication to work and wholesome hobbies has snowballed into other age groups - but achieving the balance can seem difficult. This is what makes a workation so desirable.

“Teaching English abroad allows people of all ages to earn a solid income, while still enjoying the good life,” says Rhyan O’Sullivan, managing director at The TEFL Academy, one of South Africa’s leading TEFL qualification providers.

With more than 1.5 billion people learning English globally, teachers are in high demand. Many top teaching locations are also great holiday hot spots, like Spain and Thailand – a convenient coincidence for those wanting to enjoy a workation. It can take as little as four weeks to complete the qualification; meaning in a few short months, qualified teachers could be on their way to their destination of choice.

“TEFL also offers the flexibility of teaching online. This is the ideal option for those set on travelling the world without completely clearing their bank balance. As long as you have a stable internet connection, and can make all your teaching hours, you can teach all your classes while island hopping in the Mediterranean,” says O’Sullivan.

For those still in the early years of their career, teaching abroad offers a great opportunity to gain some life experience as well as transferable skills for the working world, while earning a decent salary. TEFL-qualified teachers can earn up to R560 per hour, depending on their teaching post – a significantly higher rate than many entry-level jobs in South Africa.

“Whether you move to another country to teach in person, or decide to travel across Asia while teaching online, you are coming away with valuable skills of time management, interpersonal capabilities, and self-sufficiency – all while experiencing the perks of an overseas holiday,” O’Sullivan concludes.

Offering accessible and cost-effective ways to get TEFL-qualified, The TEFL Academy provides internationally accredited and regulated online courses. The company hosts a jobs board on its website, with more than 1 500 international teaching opportunities for potential teachers to pursue, across a number of countries. For more information, visit www.theteflacademy.com/za/

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Live like Gen Z - take a ‘workation’s