Digital Nomadism and Flexible Work Practices
Summary
Digital nomadism denotes a mode of professional life in which individuals leverage information and communication technologies to perform work without fixed geographical attachment. Driven by ubiquitous connectivity, evolving organisational cultures and heightened demand for work–life integration, this phenomenon has expanded beyond freelancers and entrepreneurs to encompass diverse occupational groups, including corporate employees, creative professionals and gig workers. Flexible work practices more broadly encompass remote working, hybrid schedules and location-independent arrangements that redefine temporal and spatial boundaries of employment. Research in this area spans disciplines such as geography, management studies, tourism and information systems, reflecting its multifaceted impacts on individual well-being, organisational productivity, urban development and regional economies. Central concerns include the management of work–leisure boundaries, the role of host communities and infrastructure in accommodating nomadic workers, regulatory frameworks for cross-border mobility and the ethics of labour discipline in ostensibly liberating workstyles. The global significance of digital nomadism lies in its potential to redistribute talent, revitalise peripheral regions, reshape urban economies and challenge conventional notions of citizenship and social contract. Practical applications range from destination marketing strategies to corporate policies on remote-work governance and visa schemes designed to attract mobile professionals.
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Digital Nomadism and Flexible Work Practices publication trend
The graph below shows the total number of articles in digital nomadism and flexible work practices across all publications each year (not limited to Nature Index journals).
Technical terms
Digital nomadism: A lifestyle of remote work enabled by digital technologies, characterised by mobility and lack of fixed workplace.
Flexible work practices: Organisational arrangements—such as remote work, hybrid schedules or asynchronous collaboration—that allow variation in where, when and how work is performed.
Geoarbitrage: The strategic exploitation of differences in cost of living and earning opportunities across locations to maximise economic advantage.
Workation: A hybrid form of travel combining elements of leisure tourism with ongoing professional responsibilities, often facilitated by digital connectivity.
References
- A supplier side view of digital nomadism: The case of destination Gran Canaria. Tourism Management (2023).
- Attracting digital nomads: Smart destination strategies, innovation and competitiveness. Journal of Destination Marketing & Management (2024).
- Going on workation – Is tourism research ready to take off? Exploring an emerging phenomenon of hybrid tourism. Tourism Management Perspectives (2023).
- In search of a digital nomad: defining the phenomenon. Information Technology & Tourism (2020).
- The freedom trap: digital nomads and the use of disciplining practices to manage work/leisure boundaries. Information Technology & Tourism (2020).
- Breaking the Contract: Digital Nomads and the State. Critique of Anthropology (2022).
- A research framework for digital nomadism: a bibliometric study. World Leisure Journal (2022).
- Emergent geographies of digital nomadism: conceptual framing, insights and implications for tourism. Tourism Geographies (2024).
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