If you worked remotely before, even for a day, you might have realized that where you work can be totally irrelevant. You can travel around the world, see all the places you’ve never seen before, and still get paid while you’re at it. That’s what we call digital nomadism – the way of working that combines attending to our responsibilities and traveling all at the same time.
It’s a trend that’s grown significantly in the last few years, and thanks to a study conducted by Passport Photo Online, we can take a closer look at the life of a digital nomad. More specifically, we can see past everything that makes this trend such a big hit and examine all the downsides of this trend. In this article, you’ll learn about the hardships of the digital nomad lifestyle that make it especially challenging.
Digital nomads & their work-life balance
Among countless benefits that encourage professionals to pick one job over the other, a satisfying work-life balance is one of the most important. Especially among younger generations, it has become an integral part of a healthy lifestyle.
The career of a digital nomad, however, is not guaranteed to let you draw a clear line between these two spheres of life. According to the study, you might struggle with combining doing your job and fully experiencing all the exciting places you visit.
Upon first glance at the statistics, you can see that most digital nomads work normal hours. 60% of the respondents said that they work either 40 hours a week or sometimes even less. Should you end up in the group, you might have enough time to be a productive worker and a satisfied tourist, but not everyone is so lucky.
The other 40% of digital nomads have to get used to a much more demanding workload. Their responsibilities require significantly more time, and in the end, some work even 80+ hours a week.
In general, working as a digital nomad freelancer is supposed to result in the most healthy lifestyle, as opposed to regular remote workers or entrepreneurs. Nonetheless, it’s common to work overtime as a digital nomad, also because of how distracting it can be to work when you’re just dying to go out and discover places you’ve never seen before. The feeling of having to work when the landscape you see from behind the window is so inviting can be crushing.
Prepare to work on weekends
If you consider just how many digital nomads work 40+ hours a week, it is no wonder that, as a result, weekends aren’t exactly free. It’s not a rule, but plenty of people who adopt this lifestyle end up sacrificing their free time on Saturday or Sunday to finish up all the week’s work. The alternative is that they’ll have to work from dawn to dusk before, and that sure doesn’t sound appealing.
- 52% of digital nomads regularly or frequently work on weekends;
- Only 21% occasionally have to finish up work on weekends;
- And as much as 27% either rarely work on weekends or not at all.
What’s interesting about the digital nomad lifestyle is that even though some of them have to work very hard, the general opinion is that it’s okay. A sizeable portion of digital nomads is perfectly content with the amount of workload they have to deal with.
- 41% think they work the right amount of time;
- 31% are dissatisfied with how much they work;
- 28% think they should be working more.
The most interesting observation is that such a nomadic lifestyle sometimes allows time to have fun while traveling, and almost 3 in 10 digital nomads feel they ought to work more. Perhaps they even feel guilty when there’s not much to do.
Digital nomads & their deeper issues
When you become a digital nomad, life gets different very quickly. Your working methods and habits change, as well as non-work-related aspects of your journey. Different rules apply in this instance, and not every change is for the better.
Burnouts are commonplace
One of the most unfortunate side effects of digital nomadism is a significant risk of burnout. It is a state of exhaustion and a feeling of disconnection from work that, unfortunately, is common in this line of work.
Many digital nomads suffer from burnout to the point that you can almost say they’re used to it. According to the study, regardless of whether you’re asking a nomadic entrepreneur, a remote worker, or a freelancer, the answer to the big question is a resounding yes. They all, in the vast majority, experienced burnout in the past.
Again, freelancers are the least affected group, but still, on average, almost 8 in 10 digital nomads have to deal with work burnout.
FOMO is a real thing
If you’re not familiar with the acronym, FOMO means “fear of losing out,” and it is another considerable issue that digital nomads have to deal with.
Because they’re often very far away from their family, bosses, and work colleagues, they grow glued to their email inboxes or phones. They don’t want to miss any important messages, and that’s why they develop this form of anxiety. Time difference alone can trigger a mild form of FOMO that makes you check for updates more often than you need, for instance.
FOMO can negatively affect work-life balance as it makes people think about work and related subjects at all times. People struggling with it rarely allow themselves just to get a break and enjoy the moment. There’s always the thought of being up to speed on everything at the back of your mind and it may become progressively harder and harder to deal with it.
- 57% of digital nomads admit that they can’t stop checking their emails even after work;
- 19% do it only occasionally;
- 23% said they never check messages after hours.
Loneliness is a big issue
As you might have already guessed, the digital nomad lifestyle can be a lonely affair. You go from one location to another and often don’t have enough time to develop meaningful relationships.
As a digital nomad, you’re most often a lone wolf type of worker, and the only constant in your life is your laptop. You’re somewhat isolated from all the other colleagues at work, only able to write with them or occasionally see each other during video calls.
According to the study, roughly 40% of digital nomads admit that the feeling of loneliness is, unfortunately, a norm. Some might say that it’s a logical price to pay for the possibility of combining travel with work, but then again, loneliness may just be the worst downside of this lifestyle.
Dating is hard
The feeling of loneliness digital nomads experience is also plain to see when you consider how hard it can be to date. Being constantly on the move and jumping from one destination to another every few weeks or so surely doesn’t help with building deeper relationships.
Even if you’re looking for something more casual, chances are you may still find it quite challenging. After all, not everyone can relate to your lifestyle, and it is likely going to be hard finding someone to join you on your travels.
On average, 30% of both men and women agree that a nomadic lifestyle always affects their love life. Maintaining relationships becomes a challenge and requires significant effort to keep the romance alive.
Road fatigue
Since the whole point of being a digital nomad is traveling, road fatigue is another downside one must consider. After all, it’s not unheard of to be tired after a journey, even if you are not a driver or a pilot. Being on the road for too long can be just as exhausting as any physical activity, and it is something that digital nomads know too well.
Regardless if one remote worker stays in one place for just a few weeks and other digital nomads stay in one place for up to a few months, they both likely know the feeling of road fatigue.
According to the survey:
- 51% always or almost always have to deal with road fatigue;
- 20% only feel it from time to time;
- and 29% either never struggle with it or very rarely.
Moreover, the third most popular way of fighting road fatigue is to power through and don’t change any plans. The only two methods that rank higher include relaxation techniques and the most popular – taking a break.
Financial matters
Lastly, it is only logical that being a digital nomad requires a stable financial situation. After all, anyone who’s ever traveled before will tell you that financing even shorter trips can be hard.
There are countless little fees to take care of, and in the end, you realize half the budget is already gone before you know it. You’ve got rent to pay, potential digital nomad visas to arrange, travel tickets to buy, and many more.
It comes as no surprise, then, that roughly 33% of digital nomads claim that financial stability is always on their minds.
Every digital nomad needs to keep their finances in check, especially considering that the vast majority of them (84%) admit to facing challenges while paying taxes. Taxation laws differ depending on what countries you visit, and being up to speed with all the rules and regulations can save you from a serious headache.
Not to mention, accidents happen. Sometimes, when plans go awry, you need to pay from your own pocket to get things back on track. The fees you have to pay in these instances differ, and you can read about them and other worst travel nightmares here.
To sum up
Although the idea of digital nomadism – the combination of work and traveling – may sound not only intriguing but also exciting, one has to consider the downsides of this lifestyle. There are some side effects of this lifestyle, such as loneliness, the risk of burnout, or constant road fatigue, that may be too much for some.
Still, however, digital nomads want to continue despite these issues.