A couple of days ago, one of our close relatives told us he is leaving The United States for an Island in the Caribbean. Because his company has offered the opportunity to most of its workforce to work from home anywhere. As long as they report physically once every 3 months for a team meeting and stay in the same time zone.
I mean who doesn’t want to work in an Island? Perhaps in a location with a better quality of life for a cheaper price tag.
The Trend
This trend is gaining momentum in Corporate America and in developed nations. One of the main reasons, behind the acceleration, is the fear of being infected by COVID-19. Sure, not all types of jobs are concerned but the trend signals a shift in organizational culture. Even though there is still a learning curve for most corporate, employees, and our society at large. Indeed, the transformation comes with so many challenges.
A. Staff development
For a starter, employees have to learn new technologies. Certainly, the most assertive impact is to obligation for employees to familiarize themselves with a whole new set of tools,technology,softwares, and applications and work experience. Whether, it is for communicating with team members, tracking work progress, brainstorming, or communicating with externals stakeholders. Employees have to be trained as well on IT compliance.
B. IT infrastructure
Also, companies have to rethink their entire work design experience and reassess their IT infrastructure to meet new standards. Surely, in anticipation of the high volume of communication, companies have to make an extra investment in upgrading their servers, security protocols and build a dedicated IT support team.
Still, there is no doubt that most employees and their families will benefit from the new shift.
Challenges for cities
However, if the movement reaches a critical mass, we might experience the most interesting moment in modern history. Certainly, the consequence will be devastating for some industries, cities, or even countries. Since most developed nations heavily rely on the service economy as a catalyst for developments.
Indeed, quality jobs bring prosperity to cities fuelling other markets such as real estate, foods, entertainment, manufacturing. Certainly, without people living in those cities, States or Countries things might be a little complicated.
On the other hand, countries, and cities welcoming those digital nomads will experience a boost in housing, foods, travel, entertainment, even manufacturing– Already, we are seeing an enormous effort by some countries, states, or cities to attract and facilitate the stay of foreigners who can work from home anywhere.
Countries currently attracting foreign remote workers
Here is a list of foreign countries that have positioned themselves into that market of attracting employees that have the luxury and the privilege to work from home anywhere.
The America
- Barbados allows people to stay in the country and work for up to a year.
- Another beautiful island, Bermuda allows workers to live on the island for up to a year.
- Jamaica, most travelers are given a 30-day visa when they arrive in Jamaica, it’s possible for digital nomads to apply for a six-month stay).
- Mexico offers visa-free, for up to six months on a tourist visa. But it’s possible to obtain a Temporary Resident Visa that allows you to stay in the country for one year and even extend it up to three times.
Europe
- Estonia offers freelancers and other self-employed foreigners who can work remotely to live in the country for a year. But you must have a gross monthly salary of at least $3,530 from a remote work job.
- Georgia, on July 16, the country of Georgia announced a new “Digital Nomad Visa” to attract remote workers.
- Albania allows citizens of the United States can get a one-year tourist visa to stay and work in Albania.
No doubt, the list will only keep growing in popularity as many countries, states, cities see the benefits of the initiatives.
Nonetheless, for companies also it would be extremely beneficial from a financial standpoint. One of the requirements, to be eligible for such a program in many U.S companies is to accept financial differential adjusted to the place you choose to relocate. In addition, those companies are preparing to downside offices and scale back on some investments.
However, if you are not interested in moving out of the US. You can definitely take advantage of some States’ programs that encourage people to move in. Providing you can work from home Anywhere.
States that offer incentives for remote workers
In The United States some states have engineered attractive programs to lure most employees to relocate in their states. Nevertheless, you must meet certain requirements to take advantage of the incentives in some states.
States
- Vermont
Vermont State will pay people $10,000 if they move to Vermont and work remotely for an employer out of state.
- Alaska
Alaska offers a slew of grant programs and tax incentives to attract people to put down roots in the state. Perhaps most enticingly, permanent residents can qualify for the Permanent Fund Dividend, which cuts each member of the population a check each year. In 2018, permanent residents received $1,600.To qualify, you need to live in the state for the dividend year.
Cities
- Tulsa, Oklahoma
The Tulsa Remote program lunch in 2018, which gives full-time remote workers $10,000 and a $1,000 housing stipend to relocate and work from the city, paid out over the course of a year.
- Harmony, Minnesota
Harmony is offering $5,000 to $12,000 homebuilder rebates. According to the town’s website, “In order to spur new construction and community growth, the Harmony Economic Development Authority (EDA) was authorized by the city council to provide a cash rebate incenting new homes in Harmony. According to the town’s website, “In order to spur new construction and community growth, the Harmony Economic Development Authority (EDA) was authorized by the city council to provide a cash rebate incenting new homes in Harmony. The EDA will provide those building a new home a cash rebate ranging from $5,000 to $12,000” (harmony.mn.us).
Where to find work from home jobs?
Nowadays, remote work represent desired perk among many professionals. If you are a job seeker looking for a position that offers the full flexibility of being able to work from anywhere. You can check on these various sites:
- indeed.com : https://www.indeed.com/q-Work-At-Home-Anywhere-jobs.html
- flexjobs.com : https://www.flexjobs.com/us/Anywhere-telecommuting-jobs
- ziprecruiter.com : www.ziprecruiter.com/Jobs/Work-From-Home-Anywhere
Eventually, more and more companies are offering these options to their workforce. Yet these perks obviously are limited to certain positions for now, here are the top jobs you can do remotely.
Top flexible jobs
- Media buyer
- Project manager
- Online instructor
- Customer service rep
- Onboarding specialist
- Administrative assistant
- Digital marketing manager
- Payroll support
- Transcriptionist
- Event planner
- Designer or illustrator
- Video or audio editor
- Voice talent
- Interviewer
- Writer or editor
- Travel consultant
- Full-stack developer
- Software engineer
- Data analyst
- Sourcing and procurement
The list is not exhaustive but reflects another example of growing equality. While lower-income Americans are required to clock in, richer workers are offered telework opportunities with the opportunities of working from anywhere. Most of those while color workers often choose exotic destinations,popular tourist destination,destination that are closer to nature or destination with cheaper cost of living.
Watch out
No matter where you decide to land. Please, don’t forget to keep track of the following things. Because if you don’t it might come back to hit you really hard.
Finances
- Bank/financial transactions
Be aware to make sure the destination you pick offers the kind of financial services that you and your family need to keep things running.
2. Taxes
Make sure to work with a tax specialist to clarify your tax obligations. In some cases, you might end up paying taxes twice. So please be sure to address that issue.
3. Asset management
Some people asset in the State or Country of origin. Figure out what to do that asset before embarking in a nomad life. Indeed, are you going to rent out, keep it or sell. Perhaps, the answer depends on whether or not you will be coming back.
Others
3. Self-motivation
Keeping yourself motivated would probably be one of the hardest tasks. Especially when you are surrounded by an incredible and easy-going environment with different work ethic. It is easy to just blend it and adopt all those bad habits.
4. Security
This should be your top priority. It doesn’t matter if you are going back to a state or city or country that you are from. That is because chances are you are a net high-income earner. Thus putting you at risk of being a target. So, be alert, be focused, and know your surroundings. In addition, get yourself and all your assets including your family fully insured. Also, update all your security contacts.
If you happen to relocate out of the country find the nearest US consulate or Embassy and get yourself registered. Moreover, you can subscribe to the SOS international alert system. I find it extremely useful. That is because of the alert system embedded that alerts you whenever there is a security-related and health-related incident near you.
Be aware of Cybersecurity risk
This is probably the most challenging aspect when you work from home anywhere. Typically, companies have protocols in place to secure the office technology and information system. But, if you decide to move abroad things become trickier. You’ve decided to move into a beautiful sunset city or country, well so do cybercriminals. If you think you are immune to their attacks think twice. Their actions and strategies are increasingly sophisticated. Here are some tips to help you mitigate the risks.
Communication risks
- Phishing emails
Those criminals are perfecting emails to target remote workers to steal their personal information or gain access to business email accounts. So, please don’t open any email that you are not expecting. If you see an unknown email landing in your inbox just trash it. The keyword here is an unexpecting email no matter the sender.
- Use encrypted communication
All your communication with your co-workers and clients has to be encrypted. If your company can’t provide you with that built-in option, then find out from yourself if you can install that functionality.
Network
- VPN(Virtual Private Network)
That is my go-to. Whenever, I am doing work remotely, especially in a foreign country.VPNs provide a secure tunnel for the information to pass between your device on your home network to your work network. I will recommend using for all your devices and family devices. Adopt it as well for personal and professional activities. It provides an extra layer of privacy and protection.
Here is a list of the best VPN service for speed, privacy and unblocking.
- ExpressVPN
- Surfshark
- NordVPN
- IPVanish
- CyberGhost
Nevertheless before settling for any options, have a conversation with your IT department. Because, your company might have their preferences are compatible with the company internal computer system.
- Secured WiFi network
Always work from a location that has a secured wifi network.
Conclusion
By no means, it the list exhaustive. Indeed, most corporate jobs can be performed remotely. Consequently, have a conversation with your manager, IT department, and human resources to find out if you qualify. In addition, to all the necessary accommodations you will need to make sure the experience is cost-effective and efficient. Sure, you might take into account the cost of optimizing your house or your working space.
