The culture of “digital nomads” challenges business logic

There are customs prior to the pandemic, such as remote working, which have changed the logic of technology and consulting companies. Virtuality has allowed many young people to offer services on their own from anywhere in the world. An estimated 35 million people they got into the habit of working and traveling at the same time. They are known as “digital nomads”. They are high-income young people and are the protagonists of a new chapter in the world war for talent.

War affects both companies and governments. All this was discussed in the dialogue organized by Clarioneprecisely titled “Digital Nomads”, which is part of the cycle The world that comes, and which was conducted by Silvia Naishtat and Gustavo Bazán, editors of Economics of this newspaper. The cycle has the main support of OSDE, Telecom and DESA and the sponsorship of Afarte.

The appeal was accepted by Eduardo “Wado” de Pedro, Minister of the Interior of the Nation; Sergio Kaufman, president of Accenture; Cristian Frers, head of the Latam Real Estate of the ACP Group; Mauro Zoladz, director of the Value Proposition in Zurich Argentina, and Cintia Cotarelo, co-founder of the Infoviajera.com website and who have adopted this lifestyle.

De Pedro described the phenomenon from the point of view of public administrations. “Digital nomads – he said in a section of his presentation – are people who it is 6 months in one place and 6 months in another. They are young people with high purchasing power e spend between $ 3,000 and $ 6,000“.

The official explained that this segment of workers represents an opportunity for the country (higher income in foreign currency), for the provinces and also for the cities. “If we could attract 1% of that community, $ 2 billion could be generated and that would improve the trade balance, ”he said. In this sense, De Pedro highlighted the privileged condition of the city of Buenos Aires, one of the favorite destinations for nomads.

“We see that there are many tourist locations within the country that can improve their offer to seduce this audience and offset, for example, the occupancy levels in the off-season,” he exemplified. As for the figures, the minister estimated him around 15% of digital nomads settle in the region. In addition to the capital, the main locations are Mexico City and Sao Paulo, Brazil.

The culture of the freelancer is booming around the world. It is already common to see photo booths of young people working with beaches, lakes or mountains in the background. They get hard currency funds (dollars, euros or cryptocurrencies) e complete homework with studies and travel. Accenture’s Kaufman warns of the risks of this widespread practice in areas such as software, design, engineering, accounting or legal.

“What needs to be clarified is that these are precarious jobs. The companies that hire you don’t pay for social or health services and when they fire you they don’t pay you severance pay. Because you are in black ”, the senior executive remarked.

He also added, in line with the big companies in the sector, that this lifestyle are siren songs and that it leads to falling into precariousness. He recalled that Argentina exports $ 6 billion a year in knowledge-based services. “Informal work represents 20% of that figure. That’s at least $ 1.2 billion. This is double what wine exports ”, she drew.

In this way, digital nomadism represents a real enigma for companies, which compete for talents and highly qualified profiles. 36% of “digital nomads” they work as freelancers for various companies and 33% own their own businesses, according to a survey conducted by the Passport-Photo.Online website. The same report shows that 44% are millennials, aged between 28 and 40. And that 65% work and travel simultaneously from 1 to 3 months a year.

The choice of location mainly depends on the state of communications, the cost of living and security. Cortarelo explained in detail what his priorities are. “When you arrive somewhere, the first thing is to look for the comfort to live and work: the coworking spaces (shared offices) and open bars are ideal for networking from anywhere.” In this sense, he recommended “having patience” to find the right places “and moderate expectations”.

Companies are adapting to this new scenario from different perspectives. In the post-pandemic, Zoladz points out, 80% of people already work in a hybrid or totally remote scheme and it is estimated that only 10% do it in the traditional way. “One of the things we found is that the use of bicycles has gained relevance, among other alternative means of transport,” said the senior executive.

As for the insurance business, “mobility (bicycles, skateboards or scooters) and technological equipment (laptops and cell phones) are the two most requested products”. The data come from specialized studies but also internal to the companies themselves. The design of a city is a fundamental aspect for the choice of nomads. “If you have a good layout of cycle paths or if there are many accidents, for example, ”adds Zoladz.

In this sense, De Pedro stressed “the phenomenal importance of Buenos Aires”, but said that the government promotes other destinations within the country, with the aim of promoting internal nomadism. “May they spend a month in the capital and another month in Ushuaia or in other cities where even the Argentine culture is deeply rooted. And where you can have a good quality of life, “he said.

The real estate sector also reacts. Frers argues that the trends crept into the pandemic have deepened, forcing a redefinition of office use. “This rearrangement has a lot to do with retaining talent.

Today there are empty spaces, in some areas more than in others, and the demand has increased in suburban areas ”. The landscape for developers and building owners has changed. “The market is recovering, but we are not going back to what it was before”, clarified the manager.