Pandemic, Remote Work, and the Rise of Digital Nomadism

The pandemic has changed much more than you might think. It’s disrupted everything, from how people live to how they work. The past year or two has seen a rise in remote work as people work from home. Some of the people working from home have taken things to a new level and become “digital nomads,” people who live and work wherever they want.

How the Pandemic Led to an Increase in Digital Nomadism

Being a digital nomad was already gaining popularity before the pandemic hit. Roughly five million Americans identified themselves as digital nomads before 2020. That number is only increasing and shows no signs of slowing down.

While international travel restrictions aren’t about to go away any time soon, unshackling people from the office is something that will endure long after the pandemic ends. There’s potential for an expansion on who can become a digital nomad. Right now it’s restricted to young people working at things such as coding, design, and the media. There’s no telling what jobs could become digitised in the next two or three years.

The pandemic showed the world the potential of the nomadic lifestyle, without the travel of course. There’s also a shifting attitude towards tourism to consider. Many city centres are already suffering from a transition to remote work, but traditional tourist destinations are getting worried about attracting visitors.

Local people in those areas are also getting more protective of their spaces. In Venice, for example, locals are starting to fight back against returning tourists. The same is happening in Barcelona, where people are tired of tourists getting in the way.

As people around the world get more comfortable with working remotely and start to foster a desire to work in greener pastures, it’s clear that these tourist destinations could rebrand themselves as being spaces for remote workers and digital nomads.

While more employers are open to the idea of people working remotely, they’ll no doubt want those people to stay in the same country. What’s the point of that though? Why not travel while you work and become the digital nomad you’ve always wanted to be?