The Untapped digital-nomad workforce is growing over 4M People

Are we actually on the brink of remote workers scattering across the globe en masse – or are predictions of the new, great digital-nomad movement overblown?

The words “digital nomad” generally conjure the image of a millennial expat in Costa Rica, peppering Instagram with selfies in a hammock, a computer in one hand and piña colada in the other. The caption: office for the day.

Now, however, with vaccines rolling out and workers beginning to make decisions in a post-pandemic reality, an increasing number of people may be embracing the digital-nomad lifestyle – and not just young workers posing under palm trees. Globally, the rise of a large, new group of travelling, remote workers is one of the prevailing narratives about a Covid-19-reformed work world.

Some moves by major travel-industry players add fuel to this prediction. Looking towards a post-pandemic future, Airbnb has shifted its focus from short-stay accommodation to long-term rentals – a month or more, for example – for getaways and workcations, even after the age of ‘social distancing retreats’ has ended. The company believes many people might not just continue to work from home – they’ll work from beach cottages, forest cabins and suburban houses outside expensive city centres. 

But is this an overblown prediction? Possibly not. The remote-work genie is out of the bottle: workers desire room to roam more than ever, and have more resources to do so than before. However, some experts say that we shouldn’t expect everyone we know to pick up and go: only some groups of workers at specific types of jobs will really be able to embrace a digitally nomadic lifestyle, leaving others behind. It’s also unclear how many people will actually take the jump if afforded the opportunity.

There is, however, certainly confidence that the digitally remote workforce is growing in some form – here, there and everywhere. But who exactly will be able to partake likely comes down to who’s privileged enough to do so. 

A nomadic future? 

There’s never been more interest in digital nomadism – “people who choose to embrace a location-independent, technology-enabled lifestyle that allows them to travel and work remotely, anywhere in the Internet-connected world".

And not all digital nomads are stereotypical beach-dwelling backpackers with laptops, stringing together creative freelance gigs. As interest in digital nomadism has spiked during the pandemic, the term is increasingly becoming more expansive – a sort of new, updated, modified digital nomad. These workers may feel far more familiar: people who work a standard, full-time 9-to-5 at a large corporation.

Throughout the pandemic, many ‘conventional’ workers have already begun to move towards digitally nomadic set-ups. From Sweden to the US, workers have flocked to wi-fi-equipped cottages and cabins to work remotely for lockdown-friendly, manager-approved staycations. 'Quarantine apartments' and 'social distancing retreats' lured remote workers from miles away seeking more space for a few weeks – or a few months. In the first quarter of 2021, Airbnb reported the amount of long-term stays (at least 28 nights) nearly doubled year-on-year.

Reference: https://www.bbc.com/worklife/article/20210615-is-the-great-digital-nomad-workforce-actually-coming