We are living in the age of Remote work. More and more people are shifting from traditional office jobs to work from anywhere. A person current location no longer determines his or her profession. In the last decade, it was necessary to move from small towns to growing big cities for better opportunities. But this is no longer true. My location now plays a small role in my work life, especially for digital workers.

If you search for the benefits of remote work, there are a number of great articles on the internet. Some common benefits are

• Increased productivity
• Flexible schedule
• Lesser commute time
• More savings

The goal of this article is to highlight the benefits of remote work from an Indian perspective. We are a diverse country and our needs are different from the rest of the world. A large number of people are working remotely from India for foreign companies. Because the number of Indian companies adopting remote work is very few as compared to countries like the USA. These are some benefits specific to Indians and in no particular order.

Global Opportunity

Remote work opens up the borders set up by the governments. Remote Indian is no longer limited within the boundaries of India to find work. No visa requirements and we can work for global companies from the comfort of the home country. One important point to discuss here is

Legal status: Contractor or Employee

Most remote companies hire remote workers as contractors. This makes it easy for companies to hire people globally. Only a small percentage of companies hire remote workers on Payroll and mostly through third-party companies managing the payroll. Does it matter? No, the only important part is the work performed by the remote worker for the company. But many Indians still see Job status as a safety. Provide great quality work, build trust and forget the rest.

The above point is for remote jobs. For freelancers, remote work makes the whole world open where Indians can do consulting. Working for foreign companies have an unfair advantage for Indians. Earning in foreign currency and spending in rupees.

Living in Indian tech cities is a choice and not compulsion

Most good tech jobs in India are based in big tech cities like Bangalore, Hyderabad, Pune and Delhi/NCR. These tech cities are one of the fastest growing cities in the World by GDP. But this development is coming at the cost of increased pollution, lesser water resources. As per Niti Aayog, Delhi, Bangalore, Hyderabad to run out of water soon. Buying a home is like a dream. For an average salaried person, it can take about 15-20 years for own a house after paying EMIs all these years.

Remote work gives an option to move out of these cities. And it is no longer mandatory to live in these cities because of the Job. It becomes a personal preference instead of compulsion. The intention is not to hurt someone but highlighting the benefits of remote work. These cities provide great resources to grow like jobs, meetups and conferences. Remote work gives an option to move out if people want.

Money $$$

Being a remote worker from India has a financial benefit. There are two types of companies hiring people from India. The good companies hire quality workers and pay good rates. The other type is looking for cheaper work. By working for the first type of companies, people in India can generate more income. Indian companies are at a disadvantage because they can not pay similar to other global companies while looking for talented people. It also helps the Indian economy because of foreign currency coming into the country.

Is remote work perfect?

Absolutely not. It has its own issues like an office Job. Remote work demands discipline, self-motivation etc. For Indians, there are issues like society outlook which consider remote workers as unemployed. I feel the reasons to go remote are personal. For me, the benefits of remote work in the Indian context are far greater than the possible issues.

Are you a remote worker from India or planning to go remote? I would love to hear your reasons to work remotely in the comments.

Thanks for reading. Do you know there is a great community of remote workers in India? Join the slack group of Remote Indian community.