Redefining Work Can Lead You To A New Financial Future

According to the United States Census Bureau,  those that work remotely have higher income and education and better health.

U.S. Census Bureau also found that prior to the Coronavirus working from home was a luxury of the relatively affluent. To generalize, in the U.S., this was mostly knowledge workers, executives, IT professionals, financial analysts and some sales reps. And according to PEW research most Americans are in jobs where they cannot work away from a standard worksite. Fast forward to today. Many workers are redefining work and finding ways to work on their own terms.

 In fact, according to the world Economic Forum prior to  the Coronavirus only 7% of U.S. workers  had the option of working remotely on a regular basis. Based on data from Sage Journals, this compared to  23% for Denmark, 21% for the Netherlands and 18 % for Sweden. From another study by Penn State University the number of people working from home five or more days a week increased from 17% before the Pandemic to 44% currently.

To great extent this is not just due to  companies reassessing and  deciding  it is more cost effective not to incur the expense of physical office space.  The work environment is in the midst of what is known as “the great resignation.”  En masse  people are reassessing priorities,  importance of work/life balance and their interpretation, literally,  of what work means to them. Those that opt for remote work and a digital nomad lifestyle have greater flexibility to  move for favorable housing prices, climate  and geographic considerations or simply lifestyle preferences. 

According to Glassdoor.com  those who work remotely are more productive and are more committed to the work they do.  Equally important many are reassessing the value of their experience, expertise and professional development  and seeking ways to leverage these on their own terms. Others are acknowledging  they are more fulfilled by pursuing life-long nonwork passions. Many people fitting into these groups have found or are seeking means to leverage these as new income paths for themselves. The  result has been exponential growth in sharing professional and personal passions to meet the desires of others for lifelong learning and professional growth. This means incredible growth in e-Learning  offerings, i.e., massive online open courses (MOOC). What’s your passion? Translate it into e-learning content/course creation as a path to changing your personal financial future.