Pieter Levels, the founder of Nomadlist, predicted in 2015 that the number of Digital Nomads would rise to one billion before
the beginning of 2035.
When Levels made this prediction, he couldn’t have imagined the forced transition into working remotely that many companies had to go through due to the recent pandemic. After the initial wave in 2007 and the second wave caused by emerging remote startups and freelancers working remotely, a new third wave was formed by the lasting effects of Covid-19. This new wave is likely to speed the remote workforce timeline and increase its numbers exponentially as companies like Twitter, Facebook and Booking are switching to remote indefinitely.
Will Companies Forced Into Remote Work Stay Remote?
By removing the physical office limitations, companies around the world will now be able to hire beyond their traditional location and compete for talent on a global scale. This will even the playing field for workers and allow them to choose from a global pool of employers.
A new workforce, new types of companies and potentially new cities will be created as a result of remote work. This will bring countless new business opportunities with it, but also countless challenges. Switching from the “old world” workforce to a new digital remote one demands a change of culture, both individually and socially. This change cannot be solely based on technical tools but has to be strongly rooted in the adjustment and improvement of the basic rights of location independent workers.
Companies that were built remotely and have a completely remote team had an easier time adjusting to the pandemic. They were also able to notice the struggles and pain points of working remotely and start working on systems and software to alleviate them long before the rest of the world was forced to try working from home. SafetyWing, a fully remote company from day one, is always updating and reinventing the ways they work and communicate with their team – completely remotely.
Building a strong company culture and making sure the communication is clear and effective allows them to continue to evolve while keeping a solid and steady ground. While they took the time and effort to find the systems that work well, the remote world still needs inventions and companies making it the best it can be. Remote work wouldn’t be possible without Slack, Notion, TeamFlow, Gusto, Letsdeel, etc, and that is the exact cause SafetyWing is trying to contribute to making sure that remote work is possible for everyone, no matter what their home country is and no matter where they are located now.
Traditionally, company culture was associated with physical things like free lunches, ping-pong tables and modern office layouts. However, not only from a personal experience, but from talking to remote work leaders like Darren Murph and Spencer Jentzsch, it’s obvious that a strong culture is not confined to co-located teams, but is actually a vital part of successful remote companies.
Addressing the Basic Rights of Remote Workers
Together with the tools that make remote work possible, the remote community needs to make sure that, as part of the workforce moves to a permanent remote status, their basic rights and benefits are not left behind. SafetyWing addressed the most urgent and basic right a location-independent employee needs: access to health care. With Remote Health, their global health insurance solution, companies can be fully remote without having to sacrifice the wellbeing and needs of their team members.
Their product is simple, customizable and works globally.
Remote Health covers remote team members residing in 175+ countries under one plan. And in case one of your team members needs or wants to travel, they are also covered during a short or long term travel to every country in the world. It’s incredibly easy to onboard new employees and have an overview of all team members with active coverage in the dashboard. For teams of 10+ members, all pre-existing conditions are covered. It’s also easy to add-on optional coverage for things like dental, maternity, screenings and vaccinations.
In partnership and by sharing knowledge with other remote companies, SafetyWing is building a world of remote that is inclusive, global, and truly understanding of the needs of remote workers and companies. Traditional systems are not enough: this community needs an adaptable software-based safety net for everyone in the world.
The world of remote is growing faster than ever – be the company, team manager, or an employee that helps make it the best it can be.
This article was written as a guest blog post by SafetyWing.
