Wandering well: weaving wellbeing into your Digital Nomading

Photo by Andrea Piacquadio on Pexels

This article was originally posted on LinkedIn on 31st Mar 2022.

A world of opportunity has opened up for Digital Nomads, with the introduction of many new destinations to consider. Also, existing visas, routes and locations have improved their services markedly. This new world of extended business travel is actively merging with existing nomad destinations providing not only more places to pick from but also many higher quality and enhanced offerings. However, like any mode of work combined with travel, there can be challenges. Read on to understand how to nomad with personal wellbeing being a key focus:

From a novel concept to the mainstream - Estonia introduced the first Digital Nomad Visa in 2020. Since then, 40 other Countries have issued Digital Nomad visas worldwide, and more are on the way, read more here. So we have endless choices, particularly as a reaction to supporting tourism and local communities emerging from the pandemic. Regions and localities now see the Digital Nomad visitor as a new target market, with potential and advantages in terms of their generally longer stay in locations. Furthermore, destinations understand how they can attract other nomads as they form impromptu communities, turning a place popular via word of mouth. Back in my early days of nomading (in the 90’s), there were no online forums, accommodation sites and community channels on Slack, there were certainly no thriving nomad communities with infrastructure like co-working spaces ready to work from. Innovation Digital Nomad Villages, like the one in Madeira, Portugal are benchmark projects for new nomad projects and initiatives.

Wellbeing matters - The advantages of nomading are well documented, especially in the mainstream media where destinations and suppliers selling services related to Covid are using extensive promotion. For the individual, combining travelling and working has got its plus points: change of location, exploring new places, combining long-stay travel with working, novel experiences, meeting new people, supporting new communities and for many, better wellness can be found in the simple act of changing location you work from, to freshen up your perspective and productivity.

However, if we take a look at the simple concept of the wheel of wellness or employee wellbeing wheel from Cornell University:

To validate the expansion of this market, Research by MBO Partners shows that 15.5 million digital nomads in the US now exist, an increase of 112% since 2019 (source).

When considering employees’ well-being, work is only one of the many criteria: there are other elements, such as Financial, Mental, Relationships, Physical, Cultural and Environmental. All the elements of the wheel can be disturbed or impacted by the change in location via nomading. We will have tangible (e.g. decrease in disposable income) and intangible (e.g. lack of opportunity for cultural connection, in a foreign location) effects, and the benefits we may have acquired, for example by arriving in a location to nomad with a better climate and physical outdoor activities, may be negated by the other elements of our wellbeing wheel being upset or out of kilter.

Also, it has to be said, like with all travelling and trying out a new location, your previous status and situation needs to be taken into account – what is your baseline wellbeing profile? Any existing issues with elements of the wheel, for example, issues with a toxic workplace that impacts you negatively in the area of occupational work, won’t disappear if you suddenly work from a new location.

In terms of peace of mind, before you start to travel, like any other holiday or trip abroad, ensuring you have peace of mind, companies like SafetyWing offer a comprehensive package of global insurance for both nomads, remote teams and employers, supporting the aspiring nomad to be travel-ready for their next destination.

Known Challenges of Nomading - As we are travelling, leaving a solid place, home accommodation, friends, family, network and possibly a work office behind us, this raises the potential for other negatives. Back in 2017, in a Forbes article, 3 established Digital Nomads offered their advice and outlined their challenges, which are extensive and diverse as people are. Again, as Digital Nomads are all individuals, travelling and working at different stages of both their life and career, challenges can and will arise. 

Loneliness in nomadic communities is a well-established concern, with experienced Nomads openly writing and talking about this potential challenge and how it can happen regardless of location or group travel. Kristin Wilson, a long time Nomad, writes elegantly about the Paradox of Loneliness in the Digital Nomad Lifestyle. Kristin finishes her piece with a pertinent piece of advice regarding loneliness, that we all experience it at some point in our lives and also that thoughts are just that, fleeting feelings that often will pass in time. It is well worth checking out Kirstin's Podcast "Baddass Digital Nomad's" too!

The feeling of being disconnected, and the lack of human connections can lead to more than loneliness. “It took me a while to identify my depression because the cultural depictions I’d always seen of it were so off the mark: depressed people in movies and TV shows were crying all the time. They had lots of feelings, but they were all bad feelings. I had no feelings at all”, shares Matt Hershberger in a blog post.

In closing - Nomading, like any other life experience involving work-combined-with-travel, has its pros and cons, all of which are worth considering prior to travelling. You can also check out the newsletter "Nomadic Path" for Nomads by seasoned nomad, Andy Stofferis, for some excellent articles and advice on Conducting good research and ensuring you are fully aware of the whole picture, your own wellbeing needs and considerations, supporting yourself to know the signs and take proactive action at the moment to make your Nomading experience as healthy and holistic as possible for your own wellbeing needs. 

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This article was originally posted on LinkedIn on 31st Mar 2022.