Digital Nomads: A Great Test Case For Leaders And The Future Of Work

A reimagined rights and responsibilities equation is vital for integrating remote workers into organizations effectively

What to do about employing digital nomads (DNs) is a perfect test case for the challenges that come with getting the Future of Work right — neither too revolutionary nor too staid. It’s a tough middle path that needs to be walked, but it’s one that, whether you welcome DNs or not, all organizations must eventually stride.

While there are growing numbers of people who identify as Digital Nomads (10-15 million in the US alone, and rising), the term encompasses a broad spectrum of types. What works for some is unlikely to work for others. Some DNs will be genuinely seeking to contribute to a company or organization while living their choice of lifestyle. Others will be playing employers for fools, aiming to get paid while doing yoga or hanging out at festivals. 

Genuine DNs are the greatest test case for employers seeking to design a compelling Future of Work because they are an extreme version of the emerging demands that most Gen Y, and increasingly Gen Z, workers place on their employers. These demands are likely to grow across the generations.

The emerging Future of Work brings with it many challenges for employers and employees alike. How organizations (especially senior leaders, HR functions, and people managers) respond tells one a lot about the trajectory an organization is on, and how future-positive they really are. It determines, for instance, how able they will be to recruit and keep the most transformational talent, and to unlock the creativity and innovation potential of their entire workforce. 

At Switch On Leadership, we help companies develop an employee “proposition,” working culture and Future of Work driven to meet as many of what we call the “4Ms” as possible. When all 4Ms are working, employees feel seen, heard, valued, respected, and supported which keeps them motivated and engaged. There are many tales of Millennials and Gen Z workers who leave a job, or refuse a job offer because it doesn’t deliver on even half the 4Ms.

We define the 4Ms as meaning, mastery, membership, and majesty. The 5th M is money, but that is more a hygiene factor that can flex if the other 4Ms are present.

Meaning: The organization has a genuine purpose — a compelling service to society and/or the planet — and is on an authentic journey to live that purpose. In addition, it means that each role is thoughtfully framed as meaningful and valuable. 

Mastery: Rather than disempowering, fake delegating, and hierarchical cultures, people managers and senior leaders believe in the potential of their staff, and go out of the way to give them agency and autonomy (within boundaries). 

Membership: There is a sense of care, safety and belonging in the workplace and team — without having to salute the flag or be part of a cult. 

Majesty: People are afforded dignity and are regularly honored for effort as well as outcomes. Thoughtful care is taken to ensure workers can build their well-being and resilience so they don’t get overwhelmed or burned out. 

Digital Nomads offer employers, and the people managers that must work with them every day, a tempting proposition: They are already future-positive in many ways. 

These are people who already have some degree of agency and empowerment (mastery), enough to choose an unusual lifestyle. They are also more likely to know that they must take a large deal of responsibility for making it work on their terms.

They may have a sense of purpose that ties them to their choice to travel or to live abroad — perhaps to volunteer, to learn a language or be changed by a culture, perhaps to develop other parts of themselves (meaning). 

They are more likely to be resilient and energized as they are choosing how and where to work, and so less likely to get stressed and lose performance (majesty). They may face challenges regarding genuine belonging (membership) in the organization, although they may get that M met in their community of choice.

In spite of these advantages, there are some major issues leaders, and HR functions, need to consider. These are also true of hybrid workers, but with the reality that some DNs will never come to the office and may have a +/-12 time difference, they are particularly acute.

This means that the “working alliance” between employer and employee needs to be finely tuned. This agreement needs to be discussed in detail, likely issues talked about and pre-empted by both parties, and solutions put in place so that breakdowns can be diagnosed quickly and addressed without resistance.

Everyone must be clear that with great rights (to travel, to work nomadically, to be a virtual team member permanently) come great responsibilities. We like to reframe these as “gifts” and “cares.” The gift is, dear employee, that you get to live your #bestlife while working for us. But you also need to step up with your level of responsibility for your duties and “cares.” These are important things to do for the greater good — not just because you are paid, but because you care. 

Many people believe they can step up, but may need support to do so. The organization should design support structures that will create the best conditions for responsibility taking on this level, just as parents need to set up boundaries and structures for kids as they get older so they can take on more duties without leaving them flailing.

Digital nomads aside, organizations should be thinking about all this anyway, as it’s the only way to transition from disempowerment and "learned helplessness” to the hybrid and distributed learning and leadership of the future. 

However, a word to the wise: a growing body of research shows that for some employee types, including POC and younger women (and I imagine also quieter, more internal people), being away from the office affords them fewer opportunities to be supported, seen, and coached through issues. They may then fade, flail, and fail. This means people managers and HR folk must identify which DN or remote worker is likely to need more guard rails, more (digital) face time, and more exposure to the organization.

Here are some questions and ideas to help:
 

• What technologies and structures can be put in place to support and include people of diverse types?
• How can accountability and autonomy be encouraged? How can trust be facilitated (on both sides)?
• How can sharing ideas and co-creation be meaningfully unlocked (e.g. permanent Miro boards, asynchronous Whatsapp/Slack voice notes, etc.)?
• How can people’s work be monitored and/or challenged in a safe way without making assumptions or taking people only on their word?
• For instance, setting up “pods” or “squads” between DNs, or with DNs and in-person staff.
• How is growth and learning facilitated? Water cooler moments vs. fake engineered sociality? Useful banter vs. time-wasting? 
• How can you cultivate a real yet appropriate sense of belonging (membership) given some DNs might be 5000 miles away?

How do HR managers and leaders themselves need to be supported and empowered —practically and psychologically — to support DNs and remote workers effectively?

Begin by making sense of the rights and responsibilities equation. Define what are the organization’s benefits and “gifts” — a diverse workforce, fresh thinking, the most creative and excited talent, energized and resilient employees — and how the organization can best deliver on its duties and cares.

Then managers can help Digital Nomads and remote workers make sense of their own rights and responsibilities equation and become part of a fluid workforce of the future.

With over 25 years of hard-won experience advising ambitious leaders and organizations on the front lines of disruption, Nick Jankel is one of the world’s pre-eminent theorists and practitioners of transformational leadership and breakthrough innovation. He has worked with over 100,000 leaders in organizations like Google, Pfizer, Nike, PlayStation, and LEGO; and has designed and led breakthrough innovation projects for companies like Disney, Microsoft, Diageo, and Lendlease. Nick is the co-founder of Switch On Leadership and the lead developer of Bio-Transformation®. He is a world-renowned keynote speaker and futurist who has taught at Yale and Oxford and has coached celebrities and addicts on two international TV shows (BBC and MTV). He is the originator of the Self-to-System™ leadership method and the latest of his six authored books was featured on the cover of Publishers' Weekly and won a global award.  Visit SwitchOnLeadership.com