The “great resignation” in the United States and the greater possibility of working remotely, at least for certain groups, increased the digital nomadism at a global level and our country has registered one of the greatest impacts of labor migration due to this reality. “There is a huge market for digital workers with high purchasing power, with the capacity to spend and invest, who are looking for places in the world to reside,” says a report from Mexico How Are We Going? (MCV).
It is a relatively recent effect of covid-19, said Pedro Casas, one of the study’s authors, when presenting the document. “The nomadic workers They have been in the country for a long time, but the pandemic encouraged the arrival of people from the United States and Europe who had come looking for a cheaper workspace, with better weather, access to nature, culture.”
And the coronavirus also increased telecommuting, the perfect combination. “Millions of workers and employers in the corporate world have realized that remote work is possible and desirable for many industries.” In this way, the health crisis generated “a new market ofremote workers”, points out the third report from the series Immigration in Mexico: More openness, fewer barriers.
“Those who enjoy the privilege of continuing to carry out their work activities in a non-face-to-face manner must be taken advantage of by Mexico. Update immigration policies to have a working market more robust would also allow meeting the needs of the post-pandemic era, ”says the report.
“Let’s not talk about negative issues, but about how we can take advantage of that. The services sector could obtain more resources,” said Alex Cabrera, another of the authors of the research, referring to the issue of gentrification in various areas of the country due to the arrival of foreigners with higher incomes.
The workers identified as digital nomads “They look for affordable places to live for periods of between three and six months, to later move again,” the study indicates. That group represents “a growing niche of independent workers”, which the country cannot take advantage of due to legal limitations, points out MCV.
What does the great resignation in the US have to do with Mexico?
It’s hard to know how many nomadic workers They have arrived in Mexico because they enter with a tourist visa, explained Pedro Casas, of the US-Mexico Foundation. “It is impossible to differentiate” who travels to get to know the country and who to work here for a while.
However, the researchers found that the average spending of tourists “It exceeded the levels prior to the health crisis.” In 2018, a person arriving in the country by air spent an average of 925 dollars, but in 2021 their consumption reached 1,110 dollars, an increase of 20 percent.
These amounts may “reflect a change in the internal composition of this group. A possible explanation for this phenomenon may be that these people are staying longer in national territory and, therefore, increasing their average spending”. But this is still a hypothesis, they warn.
another clue is the great resignation, a phenomenon that “has generated job gaps in multiple industries” in the United States. During the pandemic, more and more people in that country reassessed “their work-life relationship.” The latest figures from the US Census Bureau “report that 4.5 million workers decided to quit their jobs.”
And the United States Bureau of Labor Statistics indicates that the number of people who they quit their job voluntarily each month “increased from 1.6% in April 2020 to 6.4% in August 2021, the highest number since records have been recorded.”
How to take advantage of the “great reset”
Apparently, that situation is giving way to the “great readjustment”. That is, the search for different working conditions, such as working in places “that give them the professional and personal benefits appropriate to their lifestyle”. This opens “the opportunity to encourage the attraction of foreign talent.”
Actually, as Pedro Casas pointed out, the arrival of digital nomads to Mexico is already happening and more and more. The Mexico report How are we doing? cites the results of a survey conducted by the hosting platform Airbnb to its clients who arrive in Mexico, which indicate that 60% are interested in working here while traveling.
The lodgings in Magic towns of this country have increased 170% since 2018. Although the most popular places for Americans are Mexico City and the beaches of Tulum, Cancun and Playa del Carmen, in Quintana Roo.
However, the first challenge to take advantage of these groups is the work permits. MCV recommends expanding the legal framework so that foreigners can obtain a job.
But to make those adjustments or create a public policy ad hocdata are needed, and “the lack or limited record of digital nomads Y remote workersprevents the capitalization of a potential source of income in economic and social capital for the country”.
One of the weaknesses of the country for the reception and promotion of this human capital is the lack of digital infrastructure and investment in Seed capital for entrepreneurs in small cities and beaches, says the report.
Therefore, it would also be convenient to “create visas -or expedited work permits– for entrepreneurs and businessmen who seek to invest in the Mexican economy”, as they generate jobs. According to the report, during the pandemic, more than 40 countries in the world made migratory adjustments, “managing to attract different sources of human capital to their country.”
It is also necessary to “promote the country as an economic destination for digital age workers”, through campaigns, recommends the agency.
“The migratory flows they have ceased to be silent or invisible, at the center of this phenomenon are men, women, boys and girls who have a new home in Mexico, and whose needs must be met, and their skills taken advantage of. The diversity of thought generates innovation and desirable synergies –necessary– for the Mexican economy”, the study concludes.