Are Millennials Changing Remote Work?

A couple of days ago, @LinkedInEditors published a video of Yoav Gery, President at Selina – one of the fastest growing hospitality chains for remote workers in South America – who discusses how "Millennials are changing remote work". The results: a discussion of hundreds of professionals advocating the concept of remote work.

Surprisingly, it is not only Millennials demanding more flexibility in the workplace. The 440+ comments show a mixture of professionals (Gen Z, Millennials AND Gen Z) discussing the benefits of working remote – from improved work-life balance, reduced carbon footprint, and even higher earning potential than their 9 – 5 jobs.

It's a phenomenon that's growing more and more. You see people leaving their jobs to become digital nomads, or just folks on the road saying "You know what? I'm going to just start a career doing this, whatever it is on the road" – Yoav Gery, President at Selina

As a millennial remote worker and author of this weekly Rise of Remote Work series, I felt compelled to share my insights on this video for my subscribers.

To start with: yes, I believe Millennials are paving the way to remote work. As Gery says, "what's happening now is that Millennials are marrying later, they're not taking mortgages, they're not buying cars, they don't like to settle down. They want experiences. They make money so they can travel, and experience the world and meet other people." Being a millennial remote worker myself, I can totally vouch!

However, I don't think this idea of remote work only resonates with millennials. I've received dozens of messages from people of all generations who applaud the idea of "working from anywhere while being able to travel the world". As Gery says, "everybody's got a laptop, everybody's got a cell phone, there's Wi-Fi everywhere now." I believe in today's digital age, if you can do (or, transfer) your job online then remote work can change the way we work – whether you're born in the 60's or 90's.

According to Gery, there's two types of digital nomads. You have 1) individuals who are truly dedicating their lives to just traveling and working, and 2) people that have more traditional jobs. "It could be a banker job, it could be a lawyer job, it could be a designer job – they want something else that gives them purpose in life." It's the latter group he sees increasingly demanding the flexibility that remote work offers.

In this video, Gery proposes a sort of "flexible" remote work schedule offered by companies where employees are expected to "come into the office for 10 months, but for two months a year – keep working, but do it from wherever you want. You want to be in Asia? Great. You want to be in South America? great. Do your work on the fly, on the beach, and enjoy yourself." That sounds like a dream life!

But how do you pay for all of this? Believe it or not, but you can actually save money while traveling the world. According to Gery, his customers, "are not losing money, they're actually making money. They're spending less money traveling than they would living in expensive places like New York." From my experience, a two-person bedroom in a luxury villa in Bali cost me 350EUR per month, compared to 1600EUR per month for a one-bedroom villa in Dublin. Not even mentioning the cheap eats.

To conclude, I believe the rise of remote work is changing the way professionals approach the 9 – 5 around the globe – not only with millennials, but with all generations. What's your take on this? Does the rise of remote work change the way how we’ll work in the future? I'd love to hear your thought in the comments below!

PS: this article's cover photo is taken in Selina Porto, during one of my "workations" this year. From January 2019 I will be working from Selina Medellin – stay tuned!

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This article is part of a pilot for LinkedIn Series, a new feature which aims to spark conversation between a community of like-minded professionals. Click 'subscribe' to become part of this community, share your thoughts in the comments below and feel free to join the Digital Nomad group.

To watch the full video:

More articles in this series:

Future of Work: Be Your Own Boss, Live Anywhere & Work Remotely

The Biggest Skills Gap According to Jeff Weiner – And How Remote Work Helps

The traditional 9-to-5 office job doesn't make sense anymore. Here's why.

Working remote does come with its challenges. Here's how to tackle them.

9 Things I Am Most Grateful For Since Quitting My Corporate Job

Here's how to leverage LinkedIn as a remote worker in 2019.

Are you sure you want to become a remote worker? Take the check list.

#InItTogether #CareerPivot #MakeTheLeap #GigEconomy #OwnYourCareer #RemoteWork #FutureOfWork #Selina #CoWorking #DigitalNomad