The novel coronavirus pandemic has accelerated the pace for people wanting to have more freedom and flexibility and the privilege to work on their own time — propelling the rise of digital nomads globally.

Digital nomads are people who are location-independent and use technology to perform their job while living a nomadic lifestyle. They often work remotely, using telecommuting to get the job done rather than being physically present at a company’s headquarters or office.

Being able to work from just anywhere these individuals often operate from aircraft, a coffee shop, a public library, or even from the beach or by a pool side as they enjoy a vacation on the other side of the world.

With the pandemic causing a massive shift in the way people work and live, statistics have shown a 112 per cent increase over 2019 for the number of people embracing lifestyles which allow them to work remotely and live anywhere. The concept, however, dates as far back as 1997 when Tsugio Makimoto and David Manners penned their book T he Digital Nomad, which prophesied the invention of a singular, all-powerful communication device that would allow employees the ability to work from anywhere among other hypotheses.

“The freedom to work from anywhere opens the door for employees to choose their home — or travel — without compromising their work,” said Job van der Voort, chief executive officer (CEO) and co-founder of global human resource firm Remote in a Forbes magazine report.

While a few of these people tend to work for companies, the bulk of them are often entrepreneurs and are largely engaged in technology-driven activities from which they earn monthly. These workers also tend to be younger people and can often be found working in the knowledge economy which covers a wide range of jobs including marketing, design, media, tutoring and consulting.

“The biggest industry for digital nomadism is in information technology at 12 per cent, followed by education and training and consulting and coaching tied at 11 per cent,” industry surveys found.

According to a 2020 study by MBO Partners, there were 15.5 million digital nomads in the United States alone, with millions more scattered across the globe. Following the Great Resignation, which saw record number of workers quitting their jobs since the pandemic and more so in 2021, some of these employees have also moved to start new careers, even as digital nomads. It is projected that by 2035 the number of people living the digital nomad lifestyle will reach over 1 billion.

While these jobs are not as widespread in the Caribbean, a support of the trend since the pandemic has, however, gained momentum across the region as a number of island states move to develop and offer programmes for these types of travellers within their tourism packages. Barbados kicked things off with its Welcome Stamp programme in July 2020 followed by the One Year Work from Bermuda programme a month later. Since then many other countries have developed programmes of their own to attract these new class of workers.

As digital nomads, gone are the days when employees have to sit at a desk, clock an eight-hour work day, or even wait around until the 25th to be paid. Depending on the industry and the type of job being done, payment can be instant and disbursed as soon as a job is completed. While older generations may not be attracted to these new job market trends, the younger ones are loving it.

“Digital nomadism is a very popular lifestyle for millennials. About 42 per cent of all digital nomads are between the ages of 25 and 40 with the average age being 32. Gen X fills 22 per cent of the remote workforce, while Gen Z and Baby Boomers are closely tied at 19 and 17 per cent, respectively,” statistics from a digital marketing firm revealed.

Even though these jobs may be appealing to some people, experts have warned of possible downside risks, which they said, in some instances, could far outweigh the real benefits. Some of these they said included working below your abilities, working harder for less pay, and even at times having too much screen time as a bulk of the work is done from devices.

“The best way to make being a digital nomad a reality is to have a stream of passive income to supplement the contract work you’ll be picking up on your travels. This removes some of the financial pressure to spend your entire time abroad staring at your screen,” financial magazine Investopedia advised.