Remote workers may be at risk. Working from home became the norm during the pandemic. As the economy reopened, people demanded to continue working remotely, as it offers a better work-life balance. When micromanaging bosses called for staff to return to the office, workers pointed out the success of remote work. Productivity was at a high level, the economy held up well, stocks were flying, and plenty of jobs were available. By all accounts, employees put in longer hours during the week and worked weekends.
However, nothing is perfect. One of the downsides was that remote workers could be seen as second-class citizens by management. Being out of sight could lead to being out of mind. The remote workers risk getting left out of important meetings and conversations.
Americans are once again in a precarious position. There is record-high inflation. Jerome Powell, head of the Federal Reserve Bank, has said he needs to cool down the economy to whip inflation. The Fed’s aggressive program will impact both businesses and American families. He concedes that his policy will lead to “pain,” causing companies to cut costs and lay off workers. The leadership at major corporations will likely consider ways to save money and curtail expenditures.
White-Collar Jobs Moving To Other Countries
People are the highest cost for many service-oriented organizations, such as banking, finance, tech and online-based companies. Well-educated and highly paid white-collar professionals tend to work remotely and earn significantly more than blue-collar workers that are required to be in factories, warehouses, fulfillment centers or construction sites and restaurants.
If the economy stumbles into a recession, the stock market keeps plummeting and families are having a hard time making ends meet as inflation and high interest rates eat into their emergency funds, it’s only a matter of time until CEOs start considering cutting jobs in the U.S. and hiring workers in lower-cost countries around the world.
It’s already been proven that the technology is robust to manage remote work at scale. C-suite executives, looking to save money, will be happy to jettison leases in high-cost cities, once they lapse. As Silicon Valley tech giants are watching their share prices plunge, they may realize that offering their thousands of workers free food, massages, laundry services and other amazing amenities is no longer reasonable. ESG proponents will love that people won’t need to commute each work day to and from their offices. Next will be swapping out highly paid, remote software engineers for the same talent in lower-cost countries.
It’s Already Happening
Startups, such as Remote.com and Deel, are well-experienced in making it easy for companies to hire personnel worldwide. These organizations have already established the mechanisms and systems for global corporations to hire, onboard and take care of the taxes and compliance for remote workers in countries throughout the world. AngelList Talent scours the globe to find job candidates who want to get hired remotely. Its suite of tools makes it easier than ever before for companies and remote candidates—including those who live outside of the U.S.—to connect. Candidates can share what kind of remote-work culture they want, along with time-zone preferences and other important factors.
Job seekers will take assessments to demonstrate their skills above and beyond what’s printed on the résumé. Engineering and video examinations showcase and evaluate skills across borders. Engineering candidates can take assessments for frontend, backend, iOS, Android, and more and choose to display their top scores on their profiles for recruiters to see. Their skills and ability transcend geographic boundaries and are judged by their merits—not where they reside.
We’ve Already Seen The Digital Nomad Trend And The Mass Exodus Out Of Big Cities
During the pandemic, Wall Street bankers, hedge fund managers, tech titans and others fled big cities, such as New York, for the Hamptons, Palm Beach, Martha’s Vineyard, suburbs of Connecticut and New Jersey or jetted off to exotic locations.
During the outbreak, there was a fast-emerging trend of workers taking residence in other countries as digital nomads. People have taken to doing their job at the beach or near ski slopes. Some decided to,k relocate to lower-cost locations within the U.S. to save money, while still receiving the same pay.
Several countries encouraged Americans to migrate there with special visas and open arms. Since tourism was down due to Covid-19 and their economies were hurting, Barbados, Estonia, Bermuda and Georgia opened their doors to Americans, inviting them to come work, pay taxes and contribute to the economy.
Source: Forbes
