🏖 Are you considered a Digital Nomad?
Technically, you might be 'working from anywhere', but..
In the past year alone, you might have heard of the term ‘Digital Nomad’ at least a couple of times—especially online. As more people shifted to working from home, it seems that the next step for most companies would be to allow their employees to work from anywhere (WFA).
Then in that case, employees would have the freedom to move places as they work—whether that be café-to-café, city-to-city, or even moving between countries. But does this automatically make everyone living with this lifestyle Digital Nomads?
Who, exactly, are digital nomads?
In recent years, scholars have defined digital nomads as work-oriented professionals who reject outwardly imposed structures of traditional office work and place value on autonomy, flexibility and the ability to travel and work where they please. Basically, a digital nomad is someone who works location-independently, mostly online and often while travelling.
Digital nomads do not categorize themselves as tourists, and identify themselves as highly mobile and work-focused. So, when your friend decides to fly and ‘work from Bali’ for a week, does that make them a digital nomad? The short answer would be no. Unless they’re moving around frequently, your friend’s workplace doesn’t provide the same flexibility and freedom as the digital nomad lifestyle does.
Read more on digital nomadism and what influenced it in the first place here.
WFA, the pre-digital nomad phase
German philosopher, Ina Reichenberger, has stated that a digital nomad’s main motivation is to achieve professional, spatial, and personal freedom at work. In the digital nomad continuum formulated by Talitha Leitner, digital nomadism is the highest in terms of freedom, just after ‘fully mobile’—or in the current day also equal to working from anywhere.
With working from home / being home-based already the norm for most companies, many of them have started to gear up for the next trajected step—work from anywhere / fully mobile. WFA itself is beneficial not only for the individuals involved, but also the organization and society as a whole.
WFA for individuals
Proximity to medical care for children.
Accommodating partners.
Greater recreational opportunities.
The possibility of becoming digital nomads.
Lesser social restrictions (taboos, biases, etc).
WFA for organization
Happier and more productive employees, resulting to increased employee engagement—even boosted by 4.4%.
Smaller workspace required, which reduces real estate costs.
Expands company’s potential talent pool, also known as ‘talent on the cloud’.
Reduces attrition.
WFA for society
Eliminate commute, which in turn helps the environment.
Reverses brain drain that is often suffered by emerging markets.
Despite all the goods, there are also a few notable shortcomings to attend to when a company decides to imply a WFA work arrangement, which include data security and regulation concerns, knowledge sharing, as well as remote brainstorming and problem-solving issues.
Learn more on the near future of working from anywhere in this HBR article.
Behind the dazzling temptations
The reality of being a digital nomad might not be as dreamy as it sounds on paper. A lifestyle this unconventional is of course not made for everybody, especially not for those who are only in it for the ups and not equipped for the downs. Some of the challenges that digital nomads have to face, often on a daily basis, are:
Staying disciplined. Can you stay focused and fulfill deadlines, even while meeting new people and visiting exciting locations?
Questionable work quality. Clients who see you posting pictures of yourself hanging by the beach every day might find doubts in your work execution.
Lack of sustainable momentum. You need steady momentum in your work and habits to have the time to be exceptionally good at what you do.
Road fatigue. Planning where to work and live comfortably every other week takes up energy and focus.
Blurry friendship vs business lines. When you meet and network with other digital nomads, can you keep the friendship professional?
Mentorship and the lack thereof. Ongoing, in-person mentorship might be difficult to maintain while you live nomadically.
Find out more about these obstacles and how you can overcome them in the Forbes piece here.
Have you been dreaming of becoming a Digital Nomad? Or, did you just read about it today in this week’s Monday Mavens edition? Either way, you’re now informed on the ins and outs of becoming one.
See you next week for more professional and productivity tips!