Work from anywhere: The nomadic workforce

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  Quantumrun Foresight
• September 20, 2022

Insight summary

The COVID-19 pandemic has led to more employees working remotely and even across borders. Companies are adapting to this change by offering flexible work models and investing in technology to support remote collaboration, while countries are adjusting policies to attract these nomads. This shift is also influencing urban development, wellness programs, and the real estate market, as more people seek workspaces within their homes.

Work from anywhere context

The pandemic drove the rapid growth of the freelance and digital nomad workforce. These independent workers are not tied to a specific location and tend to move between countries, mixing tourism with business. This trend has led to the Work from Anywhere (WFA) model, with some experts warning that every company should make provisions for this model or risk losing talent.

A 2020 digital nomad study by research firm Emergent Research and jobs platform MBO Partners discovered that the proportion of Americans who self-identify as digital nomads rose 49 percent from 7.3 million in 2019 to 10.9 million in 2020. Digital nomads were primarily composed of independent contractors, freelancers, and self-employed professionals. However, the study highlighted that in 2020 the number of digital nomads with traditional jobs rose because they were no longer needed in their offices; digital nomads with traditional jobs expanded by a dramatic 96 percent.

As a result of the increasing popularity of remote work, a WFA model is becoming one of the primary considerations for employees when looking for new jobs or deciding to stay in their current roles. Other factors contributing to the rise of WFA are digitization and a growing list of sophisticated project management and collaboration tools. 

Moreover, since most digital nomads are knowledge workers, they tend to rely heavily on technology to be productive. And while the media glamorizes the digital nomad lifestyle as being able to work in remote and exotic locales, the reality is they tend to stick to cities that offer high-speed Internet and modern amenities. A by-product of the WFA model is that many countries are developing their telecommunications infrastructures to allow for increased Internet speeds to attract the high incomes and local business revenues digital nomads offer to local economies.

Disruptive impact

In 2021, music streaming platform Spotify introduced its WFA program, allowing employees to move to any country or location. In a press release, the company said that work is something its people do, not somewhere they go. Additionally, the amount of time individuals spends in the workplace can't be used to assess effectiveness.

Instead, giving employees greater choice over where they work will increase efficiency. The firm believes that providing employees with more flexibility will encourage a healthier work-life balance and retain talent. Finally, Spotify welcomes the challenges that a distributed-first organization will bring as it will push the company to discover better platforms and methods of communication and collaboration.

Despite the growing number of these WFA workers, few businesses have developed guidelines and programs for them, which can lead to regulatory risks and violations. In a literal and figurative sense, digital nomads are off the grid. Many employees take time off work to travel without their company's permission, or they might develop an informal agreement with their supervisors.

Nomads utilize geoarbitrage, the practice of traveling through low-cost regions while earning money compared to that obtained in high-cost areas where their businesses are based. Even if the employer is located elsewhere, the laws that apply to a person's employment are generally determined by the jurisdiction where the work is done, including overseas. Furthermore, because many digital nomads work elsewhere without their company's knowledge, their employers may inadvertently break employment rules and regulations without realizing it.

Implications of work from anywhere

Wider implications of WFA may include: 

• More companies creating freelance programs to attract global talent while implementing WFA plans to incentivize existing workers.


• Startups creating increasingly advanced global workforce management tools (e.g., automating onboarding, training, and payroll processing).


• Countries establishing tax rebates, freelance visas, and various incentives to attract digital nomads.


• More investments in communication and Internet networks, resulting in faster national deployments of 5G and increased 6G research. 


• Urban centers transforming into hubs for co-working spaces, facilitating collaboration among remote workers from diverse industries.


• Enhanced focus on employee wellness programs, leading to improved mental health support and work-life balance.


• Shift in real estate trends with rising demand for homes with dedicated office spaces, impacting housing market dynamics.

Questions to consider

• How else can a business benefit from a distributed workforce?


• If your company offers work from anywhere, how has it affected company culture and employment?


• What are the other benefits and risks of a WFA model?