Balancing work life and travel life: Here’s how firms can benefit from people working on the ROAD! [Fridays: Mindfulness by Miles]
Miles Everson’s Business Builder Daily speaks to the heart of what great marketers, business leaders, and other professionals need to succeed in advertising, communications, managing their investments, career strategy, and more.
A Note from Miles Everson:
Happy Friday!
We hope you’re having a great day so far.
Today, we’ll be talking about another category of workers: Digital nomads.
In case you’re not familiar with the term yet, digital nomads refer to people who earn a living by working online in various locations rather than in a fixed business location.
We encourage you to keep reading the article below. We’re highlighting some insights from MBO Partners’ research about this type of workers, including how companies can benefit from this workforce.
Miles Everson
CEO, MBO Partners
Chairman of the Advisory Board, The I Institute
Mindfulness by Miles
According to MBO Partners’ 2022 State of Independence report, around 17 million Americans identify themselves as digital nomads. This is a 9% increase from the 15.5 million reported in 2021.
As workers who embrace a location-independent, technology-enabled lifestyle, digital nomads defy a single definition as “workers.” They choose to combine working remotely AND traveling for various reasons and lengths of time.
In fact, some of these professionals travel for years, regularly moving across countries and continents.
Photo from Entrepreneur
Working from the Road: The Reality for Digital Nomads
Miles Everson, CEO of MBO Partners, says the COVID-19 pandemic is perhaps the single biggest impact on the growth of digital nomads in the past years.
He says since many traditional workers were unleashed from their cubicles or physical offices, some of them took to the road to embrace their newfound freedom.
No wonder the number of these workers grew from 7 million in 2019 to around 17 million in 2022!
… and just in case you’re not aware yet: Digital nomads consist of both independent professionals and traditional employees. According to MBO Partners’ data, 24% of these workers are full-time employees who simply choose to work remotely in different locations.
As for the other 76%, they have either started their own businesses or worked as independents. They believe breaking free from the traditional workforce model makes them feel like they have more control of their own destiny and future careers.
MBO Partners’ study also shows digital nomads work in a variety of fields, with main professions in:
- Information technology
- Creative services
- Education and training
- Sales, PR, and marketing
- Finance and accounting
- Consulting, coaching, and research
The common theme of these jobs is they can be done remotely using digital tools and the Internet. The allocation of digital nomads across these fields is consistent—and even growing—year-over-year.
Other factors driving the growth of this workforce include:
- Tech Improvements
Over the past few years, there have been MASSIVE investments in remote work tools and technologies like faster Internet speeds and remote collaboration software.
Because of these, organizations and managers are also learning to effectively utilize remote workers and include them in their teams.
- Digital Nomad Programs
There has been a growing realization across the globe that digital nomads spend more money than tourists, prevent strain on public services, create jobs for locals, and even start local businesses.
As a result, more than 45 countries have started creating digital nomad visas and other programs to make it easier for these workers to travel across countries.
- Increased Support
A growing support industry is making it easier for people to become a digital nomad! This includes cross-border health insurance and financial services, temporary work and living spaces, online information sites, etc.
There are even digital nomad communities now that provide these types of workers the work and living infrastructure they need.
- Business Transformation
Many companies have announced plans and policies to allow more workers to become digital nomads. This transformation gives people the confidence to embrace new work opportunities, and many more are planning to join this workforce in the coming years.
MBO Partners’ study also shows around 82% of digital nomads report high levels of satisfaction regardless of how much they make. That’s why for Everson, it’s not surprising that these workers say being able to travel when and where they want is the top benefit of being a digital nomad.
However, despite reporting high satisfaction levels, this workforce also experiences some challenges that include:
- Personal safety
- Being away from family and friends
- Time zone differences making work quite difficult
- Loneliness
- Travel logistics
- Maintaining a healthy balance between work and travel
So, to support digital nomads, employers and clients have to foster a culture of connection (building long-lasting relationships even in the virtual world)…
… create flexibility policies (giving remote workers the flexibility to get their jobs done and the freedom to work in different time zones)…
… invest in quality collaboration software (providing digital nomads with the proper technology and tools to be efficient and successful)…
… and make their firms easy to work with for digital nomads (developing processes and procedures to accommodate a “nomadic” lifestyle).
These tips will not only enable businesses to see working with digital nomads as a HUGE perk, but also let these workers feel trusted, valued, engaged, and eager to stick around.
We hope you find today’s topic insightful and helpful!
As Everson said, the digital nomads trend is gaining a strong social media following. Popular blogs, videos, and accounts featuring these workers have created a spectator sport inspired by pictures and stories of faraway places, exotic locations, and happy lifestyles.
In short, the future is bright for digital nomadism!
By tapping into the power of this workforce, companies can benefit from access to specialized talents, fresh perspectives on work, cost-effectiveness, and more.
Happy weekend, everyone!
(This article is from The Business Builder Daily, a newsletter by The I Institute in collaboration with MBO Partners.)
About The Dynamic Marketing Communiqué’s
“Fridays: Mindfulness by Miles”
High-performance businesses are run by people who think and act differently.
In other words, these are people who are high-performing individuals.
Companies and individuals of this kind have found ways to escape the grind of commoditization and competition by focusing on the RIGHT goals.
High-performing businesses and individuals are also “return driven” businesses and “career driven” individuals. They conscientiously develop unique capabilities and resources that allow them to deliver offerings in ways no other firm or individual can.
Every Friday, we’ll publish tips and insights from MBO Partners and The I Institute’s “The Business Builder Daily” newsletter.
These will help you gain knowledge on the things that Miles Everson, the CEO of MBO Partners, often talks about regarding the future of the workforce.
We’ll also highlight other mindfulness advice on how you can be a high-performing individual both in your career and personal life.
Hope you’ve found this week’s insight interesting and helpful.
Stay tuned for next Friday’s “Mindfulness by Miles!”
Cheers,
Kyle Yu
Head of Marketing
Valens Dynamic Marketing Capabilities
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