Workamping is usually a win-win for everyone, especially if you follow a few common sense workamper do’s and don’ts. Most employers have reasonable expectations for seasonal workampers but unfortunately, the workamping arrangement as we know it could be at risk.
Workampers are burning their bridges
Last year my workamper employer was left in the lurch when a young couple I helped recruit didn’t show up as promised. They never returned our calls and the business was left stranded. I screened this couple myself and felt awful for the stressed out business owners who didn’t find replacements until halfway through summer.
When screening for applicants, it’s hard to know who’s truthful and who’s a liar. That couple seemed especially excited to show up for the job, which paid a decent wage for all hours worked and included a free campsite and meals. I never would have guessed they would flake, but my employer wasn’t surprised, it had happened to them before.
A little hard work for free camping is a great bargain.
Another workamping employer I recently talked to told me that times have changed for the traditional workamping arrangement. “Nobody seems to see the real value in it anymore,” he said. “In the old days, people were happy to work a few hours a week in exchange for perks like free rent, but not anymore.”
Now, he said, potential workampers get extremely picky about everything from the campsite, to the wages paid versus the monthly value of the campsite, and more. They pick through the agreement as if their careers depended on it. If a workamper arrives and feels dissatisfied, they often quit before making an attempt to work it out with management. This employer is thinking about nixing workampers and hiring from the local workforce instead.
The old full-time RVers’ adage “If you don’t like it you can just turn the key and leave” is taken to the extreme, without any courtesy given to the stranded employer.
Nobody wants to feel like they’re getting used by a boss, including me. However, I’ve found that the majority of workamping employers are honest people who just want what’s best for everybody. If growing numbers of workampers keep flaking out on these businesses, it’s only a matter of time until all employers find that it’s not worth the hassle for them either. Before we know it, the workamping arrangement will become a thing of the past.
If you are thinking about workamping, or are a regular workamper like me, follow these workampers do’s and don’ts to help keep this mutually beneficial arrangement alive. Workamping is such a great way to save on the cost of living. Many folks couldn’t enjoy the full-timing lifestyle without it.
- DO look for workamper jobs that you are comfortable and capable of doing.
- DON’T accept workamper jobs until you feel satisfied you know all of your employer’s expectations
- DO follow through on your commitment to show up.
- DON’T leave before making an honest effort to work with your employer for an arrangement you can both live with.
- DO give your workamping job the best you’ve got; people are counting on you.
I hope these pointers help you find your ideal workamping job. If you have more, let us know.
Rene Agredano and her husband, Jim Nelson, became full-time RVers in 2007 and have been touring the country ever since. In her blog, Rene chronicles the ins and outs of the full-timing life and brings readers along to meet the fascinating people and amazing places they visit on the road. Her road trip adventures are chronicled in her blog at LiveWorkDream.com.
That can go both ways. Sometimes workampers are taken advantage of. Be sure you get in writing your hours and your days off. Be sure to get in writing your responsibilities. From first time experience, it wasn’t the best.
Great advice Kay. I hope you’ll give workamping another try, the majority of employers and jobs are terrific.
I agree with all that has been said here, in a far as one can anticipate. As a former KOA Campground owner with years of great workamper staff helping us, both sides need to be smart enough to ask their questions and be very comfortable that they are going into a short term working relationship that will work. That being said, there is a hole lot of stuff that happens in the operation of a campground that is not anticipated … so, at the end of the day, everyone needs to be flexible enough to do what is necessary to keep the campground running with happy campers.
Thanks for your insight Jim, it’s nice to hear an employer’s side of the story too.
Jim you hit the nail on the head. Running a campground (or any small business) needs to be a team effort from all. The work campers should be treated fairly and be willing to step up when the unexpected happens. Providing a quality stay for the people paying to stay at your campground is what keeps everyone working.
Our situation is different. We thought we had a job in mears mi working at a new Christian rv park. The manager was not good at returning our calls, after two phone interviews we went to see this park also so the manager could meet us. It was about two weeks before Memorial Day. He ask when we would like to come in, so we suggested the following mon, his response was, oh we’re not ready. Again he said he would call us the next week, well, here it is June, and still no phone call. Needless to say we are very dissapointed!
Paula, sounds like a good warning sign and time to find another arrangement. There are lots of great employers out there, keep looking.
Was it necessary to point out that it was a Christian RV park? Was that an attempt to say you expected everything to be above board? Sounds like it is a NEW RV park and the new owners are overwhelmed, therefore, their sense of timing is off.
I am a 6-year, full-time employee of a large RV Resort in Florida. I am also an 8-year, full-time RVer. I have seen the good, the bad, and the ugly from Work Campers. It’s no different than the rest of society. My experience may be different from that of others. But my employer and manager are extremely hard working people. They raise the bar every day to keep the park in excellent condition, to keep guests entertained and comfortable, and to provide a safe and fair work environment for employees. That’s what you see on the front end. But behind the curtain people in the office cry when they get cursed out by rude guests, maintenance people get ORDERED by entitled guests to do things outside of the rules, and guests complain about everything from too much sun in the sky to southerners being too slow. It’s not the facility that will weaken a work camper – it’s the guests. And if you’ve not seen what happens in the “kitchen” it leaves a bitter taste for some. For me and the people I work with, we’re a family. And we’re protective of each other. But we can’t ease a work camper into the frenzy. It’s like jumping rope, you just gotta jump in. And when you do just open your mind to the possibility that you may learn something today that you didn’t already know. The thicker your skin is the better.
Bravo! Couldn’t have said it better myself. Thanks for your excellent insight & tips about getting into a workamping arrangement.
We have worked with a variety of owners/mgr as well as workampers. We’ve had “agreements” that have been changed once into the season. We’ve been where owner/mgrs talk about their employess to others, and not nicely we must say. We’ve been “in person” interviewed for a position and never told when to arrive after multiple attempts to confirm. It’s hard to not get a “bitter taste” but the positive (in our case) has out weighed the negative. We “carry on” because we enjoy the comaradie we’ve found among (most) fellow workampers, the great (most) guests we provide service to and appreciative (most) owner/mgrs. We’ve found the key is to do your job responsibities as directed at that particular cg. As each one is different. Most times its best to keep opinions to yourself unless asked. We have absolutely no problem giving up hours for a camp site that is “worthy” of the $ amount that those hrs total and “adequate” for our size camper. Not some unlevel plot of land sanwiched in between two monthly residents with awnings touching each other!!!!
thanks to all for the insight. Been kicking the idea around.
My Wife and I want to get into the work kamper thing as well. We currently live in upstate NY. I can bring a ton of experience with me as I am extremely versed in everything from electrical work to welding. I have been a master mechanic for 30+ yrs. in the hydroelectric field. We are a hard working people person couple for sure. We have been trying to find something local where we can “get our feet wet”. Maybe Southern VT. Western MA. or northern NY. Maybe someone will see this and suggest where else to look beside the workkamper website.
Thanks