Working from anywhere has become a reality for countless employees across the globe. If you’re ready to work from anywhere, use this informative guide to get started.
Table of Contents
- What Is Working From Anywhere?
- Working From Anywhere Explained
- Why Go Remote?
- What Jobs Allow You to Work From Anywhere?
- Can You Really Work From Anywhere?
- Remote Salary: How Much Should You Be Paid?
- Paying Taxes While Working Remotely
- Negotiating for Remote Work Opportunities
- Working From Anywhere Means Career Freedom
What Is Working From Anywhere?
Working from anywhere (WFA) refers to a flexible work model that allows remote employees to set up an office and work from any location around the world.
While this sounds ideal, there are a lot of complex factors to consider when it comes to working from anywhere. From remote salaries and taxes to proposing a remote work policy, this ultimate guide will help you understand how to begin your WFA journey.
The Working-From-Anywhere Revolution Explained
Soon after COVID-19 forced everyone out of the office, the thought of working from wherever you wanted—like the couch, a nearby coffee shop, or from the back of a camper van parked outside of Zion—became an achievable reality.
Now, in 2022, working from anywhere is becoming the new standard. Employees want to earn a living from wherever they please, with anyone, anytime, anyhow.
Why Go Remote?
Around the world, businesses are entering foreign markets and growing distributed teams. To do so, these emerging companies are looking for distinguished remote employees to join and support their international workforce.
According to Velocity Global’s Work in Progress—The State of Distributed Work: Tech Sector Report, 72% of tech companies from the United States and the United Kingdom will maintain distributed teams after 2022.
Our report also found that top talent prefers working remotely. Out of half the companies we surveyed, 49% of employees said that remote work makes having a work-life balance possible, along with many other benefits.
What Jobs Allow You to Work From Anywhere?
Jobs that allow you to work from anywhere mean you can conduct business from any location, as long as you adhere to the company’s expected working hours and productivity standards.
From a business growth standpoint, switching to a WFA model allows employers to build remote teams in foreign markets as well as embrace different cultural perspectives.
For example, the online business platform Shopify embraces a remote work model to align with its e-commerce values. Meanwhile, WordPress maintains a similar remote-first model as part of its mission to democratize web development.
This list of top work-from-anywhere companies reveals that more and more businesses are deciding to build out distributed, remote teams to gain an advantage in an ever-evolving work landscape—one that is shaped by technology and digital communication.
Can You Really Work Anywhere in the World?
Remote work has brought the rise of digital nomads who champion freedom over a flagship office.
When working abroad, however, digital nomads must adhere to strict visa and immigration rules. Typically, a tourist visa does not grant an individual to work in a country. Instead, an extended work permit like a digital nomad visa is required.
As of 2022, 24 countries including Costa Rica, Germany, Spain, and Thailand have developed a digital nomad visa allowing remote professionals to legally work and earn income in their country.
How Much Should You Be Paid While Working From Anywhere?
While pay varies from job to job, work-from-anywhere roles should be equally valued and fairly compensated. Just because the position is remote, it doesn’t mean it requires less responsibility, knowledge, or skills.
A list of annual salaries by position from the Bureau of Labor Statistics shows that pay varies between $50,000-$160,000 for a number of popular remote positions. To stay competitive in a saturated job market, companies must match or pay above-market rates to attract top talent.
In fact, our Velocity Global Work in Progress Report found that most companies face huge hurdles when hiring remote professionals. Nearly half of the organizations that we surveyed stated spending too much time and money on recruiting and maintaining distributed workforces.
For companies looking to break into new global markets, offering higher salaries and benefits is crucial. As for popular work-from-anywhere roles, some of the best high-paying remote jobs and their estimated annual salaries include:
What Are the Tax Implications When Working From Anywhere?
The opportunity to work and live in a different country comes with some important responsibilities, including reporting your income for tax purposes.
For instance, in the EU, an individual becomes a tax-resident if they conduct business in a country for more than six months. Once deemed a tax-resident, the person must report earnings and adhere to the local country’s tax regulations. Even remote part-time employees and contractors could be subject to taxation depending on the country and the duration of stay.
A common issue work-from-anywhere employees have to deal with is double-taxation. Double-taxation is when both your home country and the one you’re working in tax your income. However, many countries, including the United States and United Kingdom, have entered agreements that create tax exemptions for remote professionals.
Regardless, if you are a WFA employee and do not declare your income or the correct tax-residency status, you may face severe consequences like:
- Fees, fines, and penalties. Depending on the country you’re staying in and the severity of your missing tax amount, you may be charged penalty interest fines or late fees on what you owe.
- Barrier to entry. Some countries may bar you from entering for a certain amount of time until you resolve your tax issues.
- Risk of double-taxation. Without defining your tax-residency status or reporting income, double-taxation can happen.
- Criminal charges. Although this is more commonly seen with large businesses instead of individuals, failure to adhere to foreign tax rules or pay back penalties could result in prison time for tax evasion or fraud.
Negotiating With Your Manager for Flexible Work
Even though working from anywhere is growing in popularity, many employees are still working within a traditional office setting. If you’re an in-office employee looking to work from anywhere, proposing a remote work policy will help you negotiate with your manager.
A comprehensive remote work policy is a set of guidelines that details every aspect of remote work allowed by your company. According to a sample remote work policy from the Society for Human Resource Management, your proposal should dictate the expectations, needs, objectives, and goals of your work-from-anywhere role. At the same time, it should go into detail and answer questions related to your eligibility, equipment needs, security, time tracking, and communication requirements.
Be sure to also talk about the benefits of working from anywhere, including having a better work-life balance and increased productivity. Then, outline your plan on how you’ll stay focused and productive while working outside of the office. Finally, add in some other examples of work-from-anywhere success stories to help support your proposal, like this case study of Citrus Advertising, a Houston-based branding agency that transitioned a remote employee for the first time.
When you’re ready to propose your remote work policy, create a checklist and go over each item with your manager. Talk about everything from your approved schedule to your remote office setup. With a well-crafted remote work policy in hand, you can take the first step toward working from anywhere.
The Bottom Line: WFA Means Career Freedom
WFA is all about being untethered and free. And while some employers and employees are struggling with leaving the office behind, the writing is on the wall: working from anywhere is here to stay.
Velocity Global’s Global Work Platform is helping businesses create a distributed workforce while helping talent work from anywhere. Using cloud-based technology, our Global Work Platform allows employers to easily hire, pay, and cover benefits for work-from-anywhere professionals in more than 185 countries.
Reach out today to learn how Velocity Global’s solutions enable you and your employer to work from anywhere.
