U.S. Workers Leaving Return-to-Office Mandates, Becoming In-Demand for International Remote Positions

By Moon Harper

Jan 26, 2024 04:42 AM EST

Remote Worker — (Photo : Unsplash/Aleh Tsikhanau)

Finding a remote job in the U.S. is becoming more challenging, but there may be better opportunities to work from home for a overseas company.

The Growing Demand for Remote Positions Outside The U.S.

The State of Global Hiring Report from Deel, an HR platform focused on global hiring, reveals a 62% increase in the hiring of American workers by international companies last year, analyzed from 300,000 contracts between Deel customers and workers, covering both contractors and full-time employees, where approximately 85% are for remote positions predominantly hired in the U.K., Canada, France, Singapore, and Australia.

According to Deel CEO Alex Bouaziz, the increase in U.S. workers seeking remote jobs with overseas headquarters appears to be linked to the reduction of remote roles within the U.S., where people are leaving jobs with return-to-office mandates to work remotely, allowing Deel to hire some of the best talent from those companies.

Workers with In-Demand Skills Being Hired Internationally

Global employers aim to access the vast U.S. talent market, seeking to import the culture that has contributed to the success of some of the world's largest enterprises to their own countries.

Americans working remotely for international employers are often based in San Francisco, New York, Chicago, Austin, and Miami. According to Bouaziz, these U.S. economic hubs are a rich pool to hire highly skilled workers with unique product development, growth, and sales expertise. Typical remote jobs include research, sales, software engineering, content, and product development roles. Many of these companies contemplate replicating the successful playbook developed in the U.S. Bouaziz explains, "One approach is to bring U.S. workers to their companies."

In terms of age, about half of American workers with contracts through Deel are between 25 and 34 years old. Additionally, 18% fall in the 35 to 44 age group, while 25% are 45 years or older.

The Pros and Cons of Working Remote Internationally

Working remotely for an international company involves more than just working from home. In addition to dealing with taxes and other HR compliance matters, Bouaziz highlights the importance of considering time zone differences. For example, a Californian working for a company based in Europe may need to adjust to early hours, depending on the setup of the company's distributed workforce.

Cultural differences involve aspects like holiday time off and communication norms, which are important to comprehend and accept to ensure everyone feels comfortable and performs their best work while being considerate, according to Bouaziz.

On the positive side, embracing the work culture norms of a different country can be advantageous, where you might enjoy a different communication style or a unique outlook on work-life balance. According to Bouaziz, you may thrive in an organization with more diversity if you collaborate with colleagues from multiple countries, which can go beyond the workplace, offering a different perspective on the world.

Bringing a company to a new U.S. market can be an intriguing challenge, and you might have the opportunity to be among the first to introduce U.S. culture to an international organization, notes Bouaziz.