This startup is keeping remote workers socially connected.
Many workers today are choosing the “Digital Nomad” lifestyle. But humans still crave in-person socializing.
During the pandemic, remote work became the standard model for many knowledge workers around the world. Suddenly we are all attending meetings via Zoom, collaborating via Slack, and sending emails from our sofa.
A growing number of young knowledge workers are now combining the remote work model with a thirst for travel and becoming “Digital Nomads”. Armed with a powerful laptop and a current passport, they work from wherever their mood takes them — as long as there’s a strong wifi connection. Eight of the top ten countries for Digital Nomads are in Europe, according to data from Circleloop, as the relaxed international borders within the Schengen zone make roaming easy. Gartner says that a third of German and French workers will operate remotely in 2022. That’s a huge deal.
But nomads often don’t have local friends because, well, because they are nomadic! So Unplan, a new startup in Italy, has built a new platform for remote workers to connect with each other in real life. Members get invited to spontaneous coffee breaks, coworking sessions, engineering meet-ups, or pot luck meals. With the Unplan app, your remote work lifestyle has an in-person social aspect to it, no matter where you are in the world.
There is no doubt that remote working and the Digital Nomad lifestyle will continue, long after the pandemic is over. Tech companies that once offered free office food as a recruiting perk are now finding that employees are more interested in a job that gives them the flexibility to work from anywhere.
Revolut, the billion dollar digital bank in the UK, now offers all employees the ability to be a Digital Nomad for two months a year, working from anywhere. Other companies are following suit.
It’s a whole new world, and Unplan is riding this salient demographic trend, creating a platform to help Digital Nomads to gain the benefits of a remote work lifestyle while still having the in-person socializing that humans crave.
