The Future of Work is here! And guess what? It’s *not* your office!
I’ll be honest, I was hesitant to post this. Advocating for a nomad lifestyle consisting of working while travelling didn’t sound like a good idea amidst a pandemic. Is this really a good time to engage with the community? Actually, I realised *it is*!
Recent events convinced me that the Momentum for Change is here! I’ll get to that in the second part of this blog.
For now, I have one question for you: what if the World was your Office?
My name is Aurélie, and let me welcome you to the 2020s: the era of flexi workers. The future workplace is hybrid, it is DIGITAL, it is location independent and enables you to attract talents from anywhere and to work from anywhere.
I’ve been a remote work advocate for 6+ years. Actually, it’s more than remote work: I work while travelling the world. I have created my very own lifestyle, living my passion. Eh, wait, this has now changed because of Covid-19… but this too shall pass!
With #MissionNomad, my ambition is to:
.Engage
.Share
.Inspire
.Unite
.Spark conversation on the Future of Work by sharing my experiences -working while travelling, through a vlogs series starting in Central America.
Why I think the Momentum for Change in the workplace is here
- 2020 made a point: work is NOT a place (any more)
The era of office centricity is past us. My brain has been on fire thinking about this major shift. Hybrid workplaces are the future. I base this strong statement, simply looking at the announcements from progressive companies flooding the news since March 2020. This is a game-changer.
There are three initiatives I’d like to highlight. They stuck with me for different reasons:
- Twitter – they were among the first major companies to go hybrid, letting employees choose to work from home permanently whether they wanted to. Check out their campaign #LoveWhereverYouWork
- Shopify – this echoes modern new age businesses to me. They chose to go “digital by default. Digital by design” and clearly state they will now recruit talents from almost anywhere in the world and that employees can work from wherever they call home.
- Siemens – it is the first major announcement from an European HQ’d company, as they have just established mobile working as a core component of the “new normal”. To me, this is a very strong message since European countries tend to be more conservative.
Not convinced yet? OK, let me go on…
- Digital nomadism is becoming a real thing!
As a remote worker and world traveller, I’m thrilled to see more and more companies embracing hybrid & flexible models. To me, this means that digital nomadism is not only for freelancers any more!
Techcrunch has clearly set the scene: Work From Home is Dead, Long Live Work From Anywhere! There are interesting initiatives I want to share with you, just to name two and add some context:
- The Barbados Welcome Stamp, consisting of a 1-year visa for remote workers
- Estonia and their digital nomad visa.
- And I reckon the list will get much longer!
Exciting times ahead, as we need to re-design the notion of “workplace” and think much more digital and flexibility.
Who is going to be involved? Well, everyone! HR departments, Travel Management and Mobility departments, IT departments, Managers at large.
…which leads me to my third point:
- Where (Business) Travel, Human Resources and Remote Work meet
The (business) travel industry is my playground: it is my core business as a consultant, proud “Roader” and liberated ambassador. In this new, post Covid-19 world, it sounds obvious that our business travel patterns will change. We don’t know yet to what extent, but solely considering costs/ROI, mental health and environmental aspects give us some nudges.
I reckon we will be more likely to travel for longer trips, combining business and leisure purposes more systematically (helloooo, bleisure!) and working remotely in the process. We may travel for business only for meetings that add value. This will demonstrate the power of face to face and human interactions to achieve company goals and reinforce the company culture.
There is a lot to discuss when thinking about how remote work, travel management and HR meet. More to be expected on that topic in upcoming blogs.
Here’s the next conversation we need to have
STAY TUNED – more to follow on my work & travel experiences with #MissionNomad vlog series, starting in Guatemala that blew my mind!
I believe there is a better, more fulfilling way to design our Work Life and I’m keen to discuss that with YOU: employers, travellers, peers, enablers of that lifestyle.
OK – where do we start?
Catch me on my (future) trips!
