Hunched over laptops, frequently speaking softly into their mobile
phones, half a dozen digital nomads are at work in an airy coffee shop
in Bali’s upmarket enclave of Nusa Dua.
The building they are working from is a hub for SMESCO, a
government-backed marketing agency which helps SMEs and co-operatives to
sell Indonesian goods and services overseas.
Across the road, in the Grand Hyatt lobby lounge, a couple have found
a quiet corner to switch between scrutiny of their laptop screens and
time spent on their phones. Are they trading shares? Buying sugar
futures? Or chasing tickets to a Taylor Swift concert? Who knows?
What is clear that remote working in Bali continues to be an attractive lifestyle for many and is likely to grow in popularity following the Indonesian government’s launch of a ”golden visa” offering longer stays and other perks to those committing investment and their talent to Indonesia.
For all that, a new BBC report suggests that an increasing number of
workers who have tried the nomadic lifestyle report that “behind the
wanderlust-fuelled Instagram posts and rosy travel blogs, the reality of
this set-up is not always so glamorous”.
The upside of working from a beachfront location, choosing hours to
work and hours to play is, for some, being clouded by the mental and
physical challengers of isolation, “and even made them poorer at their
jobs”.
A travel blogger who gave up the nomadic lifestyle told the BBC the
absence of a stable community resulted in a loss of long-term
friendships, leading to feelings of loneliness and depression.
While Beverly Thompson, a sociologist from Sienna College, US, who
researches digital nomadism, told the BBC many people who chose the
digital nomad lifestyle weren’t prepared for the downsides, partly
because its community often presents an idealised image through social
media and blogging, hiding the negative aspects, such as loneliness,
mental health issues and financial struggles.