A new YouGov Survey has found that almost one in three (29 per cent) Australians have previously worked as a digital nomad, and of those who hadn’t worked this way previously, 41 per cent indicated that they would consider this lifestyle.
For this poll a ‘Digital Nomad’ was defined as someone who travels freely for an extended period (at least one week), while working remotely using technology and the internet.
41 per cent of Australian digital nomads and those who would consider working as a digital nomad, would choose Japan as a destination of choice.
The top destination among digital nomads and considerers, was New Zealand as indicated by
50 per cent. Singapore was also a popular choice, desired by 34 per cent.
Australians working in IT & Computer related fields (i.e. coding, web design, software development) were most likely to say they have worked as digital nomads. Almost a third (30 per cent) of Australian digital nomads said they had done IT & Computing related work.
The next most common fields were creative roles (21 per cent), such as script writing and film making, followed by financial services (18 per cent) rounding out the top three.
Vlogging and social media influencing were roles only held by 11 per cent of digital nomads.
Of those who had been a digital nomad, 95 per cent claimed that there were notable benefits to the lifestyle. This included the ability to work flexibly (45 per cent) and enjoy the benefits of travelling without taking time off work (44 per cent).
Comparatively, those who have not previously worked under this arrangement agreed with the digital nomads as to what they saw to be the benefits for this lifestyle. 62 per cent cited flexible working arrangements, as well as enjoying the benefits of travel without taking time off work.
However, to all these benefits, 87 per cent of digital nomads admitted that this lifestyle brought its challenges.
37 per cent found that it was difficult to be away from friends and family for an extended period, and 34 per cent found challenge in organising travel logistics like accommodation and visas.
Non-digital nomads believed that the hardest aspect to this lifestyle would be staying away from family and friends for extended periods of time (58 per cent), and communication issues with colleagues (51 per cent).
For more YouGov insights, please visit our website, here.