More choosing to work remotely whilst travelling
LOS ANGELES: More baby boomers are now choosing to work remotely whilst house-sitting and travelling overseas.
A “rapidly increasing” number of Victorians are choosing to work remotely while travelling the world, trading an office for white-sand beaches and cityscapes.
Also known as digital nomads, more Victorians are opting to travel freely while maintaining a job using technology and the internet.
They often work remotely in temporary housing, hotels, cafes, public libraries or co-working spaces.
Social researcher Mark McCrindle said more young tech-savvy Australians are prioritising travel and lifestyle.
“Perhaps working overseas is suitable for their study or relationship,” he said.
“We’re also seeing the trend in people aged 50 and over who like the flexibility of perhaps looking after their grandkids or working from a holiday house.
“The pandemic was a game changer – it decoupled work from location. It forced us to recognise we can absolutely work away from a physical workplace.
“It was the biggest transformation to work in a century and we can’t understate the force of it.”
It comes as many Australian employers are trying to force employees back into the office for at least 40 to 50 per cent of the time.
Some companies have even started linking bonuses and performance reviews to the number of days staff spend in the office.
Mr McCrindle said there are benefits of hiring digital nomads for businesses, including having employees available to work in different time zones and connect with clients from across the globe.
“Businesses then also are able to select from a global talent pool,” he said.
But Mr McCrindle’s research shows almost three in five Australian workers (59 per cent) say they have a sneaking suspicion that those working in the workplace get better opportunities than those working from home.
“Australian workers who work from their workplace are experiencing ‘superiofficey’, a recognition and sense of superiority for making the effort to come to their workplace,” he said.
“Many Australian workers are also experiencing videoconference FOMO – those who are working remotely have a fear of missing out on what is happening during and after a video conference for those who are at the workplace.”
Mr McCrindle said the research shows only 14 per cent of Aussies prefer to be in the office all of the time, with the majority (86 per cent) wanting to work remotely to some degree.
Chloe Smith, 24, has been working full time as a digital marketing specialist for a Melbourne-based tech company while travelling for nearly six months.
In this time she has visited eight countries and 20 cities including Bali, London, Paris, Istanbul and Bangkok as well as popular travel destinations in Morocco, Spain, Portugal and Turkey.
Ms Smith said after the pandemic and Melbourne’s extensive lockdowns she was “ready to go out and see the world”.
“My job is quite remote already – I work from home full time – so it was an easy decision for me to want to work from a new country,” she said.
“I was really lucky to have a supportive team in Melbourne who allowed me to work from various time zones too.
“The one thing that wasn’t filling my cup at my job was the culture. So, I decided that if I didn’t have culture in my work life, I’d have adventure instead.”
She said through remote working she was able to see the world, meet new people and gain confidence.
“Slow travelling meant I didn’t feel like I was being burnt out. Travelling kept me motivated in my job. I was excited to be in a new place and this energy transferred into the work I was doing,” she said.
But Ms Smith said there are negatives that come with working from different countries including time zone difficulties.
“I had to wake up at 4am every weekday to start work, I needed to stay flexible with Australia’s Time Zone,” she said.
She has recently returned home to Melbourne but is hoping to do another travel stint this year and work remotely in Asia for three months.