Why I decided to fight the ongoing battle against remote work

Workplace flexibility has become the most important cause of my life

Recently, texts that "showed" how remote workers would "look" in 70 years have gone viral. This "projection" was made by an office furniture company (weird).

As a journalist for 12 years, I rarely saw such bad headlines. "Terrifying! Bizarre projection shows how remote workers will look. These professionals will have swollen eyes, a hunchback, and claw-like hands."

There is an ongoing war against remote work from all sides, led by powerful agents, such as Elon Musk. And journalism has covered this uncritically in search for clicks.

I confess that I wanted to talk about this topic in the last edition of this newsletter, but I restrained myself. I was in a rage. In our lives, we need to act with our brains, not with our livers.

Yesterday, I saw on LinkedIn that two fellow journalists searched for more information. They used their brains.

Fabio Manzano found the original research from the University of Leeds that underlies the texts, and Carolina Dantas spoke with the lead author, Professor Matthew Davis.

"The study is not about that! It is a comprehensive research conducted by the University of Leeds on the photography of post-pandemic home office work. It provides rich material on how the job market is changing and does not, in any way, make a pessimistic prediction about work done at home", writes Carolina.

Matthew Davis says: "Just to clarify, we are NOT predicting that remote workers will be hunchbacks with claw-like hands... Our findings that 27% of office workers do not have a suitable home workspace do not mean that all or most future remote workers will have health problems", he said.

When I had a fixed home, my last chair was very comfortable. It was much better than the chair I had used in the newsroom for over five years. Where would I have more chances of becoming hunchbacked? (I still need to understand how I would become Wolverine as a remote worker).

Before writing this text, I thought about what I could contribute to this discussion. And I remembered why I never advocated for a cause in my life. It's very frustrating to be on the weaker side of the force. If you have to fight for a cause, it's not dominant.

It's always tough to change the status quo. This time, however, I decided I would act differently. Workplace flexibility has become the most important cause of my life. I'm 32 years old, and I have about 33 more years (being optimistic!) of work ahead before retirement. And I want to spend these three decades in the best way possible. You may say I'm a dreamer, but I believe in the remote work revolution. We tasted working remotely for over two years, and Earth kept up spinning.

My fight will take place in this newsletter, no matter how many times I have to repeat the same thing. If you agree that we should have more flexibility at work, support those on the frontlines of this war. Share my newsletter or become a paid subscriber. The money will be spent on new battles.

---

Who are These Digital Nomads

Name: Paula Nascimento and Rafael Freitas

Place of birth: Porto Alegre, Brazil

Age: 46 years old each

Education/Currently Job: We are founding partners of 361º Business Agency, a results-driven digital marketing company.

When discovered nomadism: August 2021.

When did you decide to be a nomad, and when did you become one? What motivated the decision? We transitioned our careers, started a business from scratch, and achieved geographical freedom. We came from two established careers: Paula, a lawyer, and Rafael, a university professor. We exclusively worked in these fields in a traditional and in-person setting until we reached a point of mental and physical exhaustion, which prompted us to search for activities that fulfilled us. We started running to care for our health and discovered previously unknown capabilities. We volunteered as mentors in innovation and entrepreneurship projects to immerse ourselves in disruptive environments.

We realized that our skills contributed to generating company results and guiding people seeking new professional directions. We identified marketing as the field where our skills were applicable. The skills we refer to were not creative writing or design skills but team management and business leverage strategies. This process led us to a deep journey of self-discovery, ultimately leading to the founding of 361º Business Agency.

Even though we didn't possess design or creative writing techniques, which limited us from working as freelancers, we knew we could lead teams with talented members in those areas. We decided that the company would be digital from the beginning and forever. However, we were not yet nomads. The company was founded on April 26, 2019, and it was crucial for us to position ourselves in the market as a digital company when the pandemic triggered a massive shift towards digital services, bringing businesses closer to their customers. The confinement of the pandemic led us to search for ways to live outside the four walls of our apartment while working simultaneously (the only certainty we had was that we wouldn't go back to working for third-party companies).

In August 2021, we saw a post on LinkedIn by Michel Jasper, where he described the transformation in the lives of Michel and Suzi as they decided to become digital nomads. It clicked for us, and we did a 30-day test in Torres, Brazil, in October of the same year. We returned determined and began to deprive ourselves of all material possessions and prepare our family and friends, whose support was total and unrestricted, which was crucial in giving us courage.

We no longer have formal clothes, shoes, bags, boots... nothing. Everything we have fits in five suitcases: four that accompany us on our travels, and one that stays with our family in Porto Alegre, Brazil, containing clothes suitable for each destination. We scanned all our important documents and memories —everything else we give to charitable institutions in the greater Porto Alegre area. And on March 21, 2022, we started our journey.

Favorite place: So far, we have only been to four places: Torres, Imbituba, Porto Alegre, and Cabedelo. We usually say that we don't travel from place to place, but from community to community. Therefore, our favorite place is the relationship with the local community, living like the residents do, regardless of our geographical region.

An unforgettable moment lived as a nomad: We have seen whales, heard the communication between whales, dolphins doing somersaults, various butterflies, colorful flowers, exotic birds, big waves, tasted multiple foods, and fulfilled the dream of experiencing one of the greatest cultural expressions on the planet - the São João festival in Caruaru, Brazil, where we witnessed two more dreams coming true: watching the shows of Ivete Sangalo and Elba Ramalho. But the most unforgettable moment is simply being there. Nothing is more valuable than choosing where we want to be and living experiences like these.

What does nomadism mean to you? Freedom to live.

What advice do you give to someone who wants to become a nomad? Just do it! But before that, test to see if nomadism suits you and what type of nomadism works. For example, we have a slow travel style, staying in each location for 3 to 6 months. We have no rush, and our interest is to immerse ourselves in the reality of each community. Some nomads prefer to stay a short time in each place. Some nomads have a home base and travel frequently but always return to their base. Others live in vehicles. Some prefer Airbnb, like us. The possibilities are many, and that is wonderful.