Why is the world moving towards digital nomadism?

A digital nomad was very rarely heard of up until a few years ago. But, with flexible and remote working opportunities accelerated by the pandemic as well as the introduction of new technology, digital nomadism is on the rise.
As many companies continue to embrace remote working for their workers, employees find themselves able to benefit from their new digital lifestyle and take advantage of the freedom that a traditional 9-5 job wouldn’t allow. As of June 2021, two thirds of Australians were working remotely, suggesting that the easing of restrictions won’t necessarily see a pre-covid level of a return to the workplace.
We’ll take a look at the digital nomad demographic, the industries they belong to and where the trend is headed in the future.
What exactly is a digital nomad?
The word ‘nomad’ conjures up images of a carefree, hippie backpacker, travelling aimlessly whilst the rest of the world gets to work. But, nowadays, workers from multiple corporate industries can be classed as digital nomads. Many jobs can be carried out digitally, from just about anywhere in the world, creating opportunities for many previously office-bound employees.
And it’s not just one or two countries that are embracing this balanced way of living and working with many workers across America, Canada and Europe enjoying their digital freedoms. Statistics show that the US makes up the majority of the world’s digital nomad population at just over half, whilst Australia counts for 2%. But with this trend set to grow, these numbers are likely to increase.
Main digital nomad occupations
A few years ago, if someone wanted the chance to work and travel, job options were pretty limited. Freelance writers, bloggers and influencers were some of the top picks for those wanting a nomad lifestyle. But with businesses adapting to the increasingly digital world and wanting a better balance for their employees, industry opportunities have grown.
Many online tutors, virtual assistants and graphic designers are now able to enjoy working, not just remotely, but from any location they wish. Other industries with employees that can work from almost anywhere include CDF trading, social media management and finance, proving that there’s more to the nomad lifestyle than travel blogging.
Advantages of a digital nomad lifestyle
Aside from the ability to work from any location, many digital nomads enjoy the lack of commute, a great work/life balance and a sense of freedom, whilst still receiving their wage each month. It also enables workers to live in or travel across multiple locations with cities such as Melbourne, Sydney, Dubai, London, Tallinn and Tokyo coming out as some of the top places to work digitally from.
Trends for future digital nomads
As businesses and countries continue to adapt to the digital way of working, embracing ever-advancing technologies, opportunities to create a working nomad lifestyle will increase. Governments around the world will see the economic advantages of attracting this new demographic of people to their country, whilst employees will explore different locations to base themselves from, whether this is for part of the year, or permanently.
With less demand for office space, some companies might consider migrating all of their staff to remote working, whilst utilising employee connections internationally.