Telemigration
Covid-19 has had a considerable impact on people’ s everyday lives, especially in the working world. The lockdown waves have established new practices. Telecommuting is now a widespread practice, but not without implications. In fact, the sudden shift to working from home has acted as a catalyst for another way of working: telemigration. Focus on this phenomenon.
Telemigration: a Kind of Offshoring
Telemigration is heralding a new era. It is seen as a new form of globalization.
Telemigration is a process by which teleworkers integrate the international labor market. This mode of work is not new. Companies have been using remote workers to provide a service for several years. However, this process is controversial as it tends to become the rule rather than the exception for certain activities. The term “telemigration” originated in an essay written by a professor Richard Baldwin in 2019. People from one country who work for a company in another country are now called “telemigrants.
Many analysts believe that “telemigration” carries a certain pejorative connotation since it is composed of “migration”. In addition, there are concerns about the effects that this development could have on the economy. Indeed, telemigration causes the local population to lose their jobs to foreign workers.
Nevertheless, telemigration would not have gained such a large scale without the benefits that it brings.
Telemigration: a win-win partnership
The widespread use of telemigration is being driven by many factors. These include the increasing use of telecommuting, the diversification of online work platforms and the development of “telepresence” tools.
This process allows companies to challenge the competition by being more efficient. Indeed, telemigration offers the company’s leader the possibility of recruiting experts who are usually unaffordable. In fact, labor in developing countries is less expensive than local labor.
The use of tele-migration also helps to streamline the recruitment process. Companies can go to intermediation platforms to find new talent. These platforms give them access to numerous tele-migrant profiles capable of carrying out an assignment in the best conditions.
Telemigrants, on the other hand, have the opportunity to obtain qualified jobs in many activities’ sectors. They are offered more or less standard functions such as accounting, programming or translation. The opportunities are increasing on an international level. Assignments can be one-time or long-term. In any case, it is obvious that freelance workers have a great flexibility in the way they organize their work. However, competition is becoming more and more severe. Telemigrants must establish themselves as experts in their chosen field. Indeed, companies prefer to turn to an experienced profile in order to avoid wasting time with the training of beginners.
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