Digital nomadism and the changing nature of the workplace

: a Millennial and Gen-Z analysis

Abstract

The ambition of travelling the world and developing a professional career at the same time has gripped the imagination for generations. Technological advancements have allowed this ambition to become a reality for more and more people, especially in developed countries. The Covid-19 pandemic forced many people to work from home, enhancing the possibility of becoming a Digital Nomad (DN). If you can work from home, why not from anywhere in the world? The Digital Nomad phenomenon presents, nonetheless, challenges at various levels: to publicentities, to businesses, economies, legal systems, logistic systems and last, but not least, Human Resources departments. Adjustments will, arguably need to be carried out to accommodate this new social demand. The most recent developments in the Digital universe such as 5G, the metaverse, AR, etc., will constitute instruments that facilitate integration of Digital Nomads in the workplaces. This thesis studies progress of the development of this DN movement and seeks to understand to what extent changes in the nature of the workplaces can be observed. The results showed that the impact felt by companies, at this point, is not yet significant. DNs look for independent and freelancing opportunities and companies do not yet possess the resources and capabilities to integrate Digital Nomads as full-time employees.

Date of Award	20 Oct 2022
Original language	English
Awarding Institution	Universidade Católica Portuguesa
Supervisor	Peter V. Rajsingh (Supervisor)