You've probably noticed that your best candidates aren't always in your backyard anymore. That brilliant developer is in Prague. The marketing strategist who gets your brand works from a café in São Paulo. And they're both perfectly happy staying exactly where they are.
Welcome to the new reality of remote work-where talent picks location, not the other way around. A remote job simply means your employee works from somewhere that isn't your office. It could be their home, a coworking space, that café with the good Wi-Fi, or, honestly, anywhere with a decent internet connection.
Remote work used to be the exception. Now? It's what your best talent expects. Full-time remote, hybrid setups, flexible arrangements, smart companies are figuring out how to make it work because that's how you get the best people on your team.
And when you're thinking globally, remote work isn't just nice to have. It's your ticket to hiring that data scientist in Delhi or that customer success manager in Copenhagen without asking them to uproot their lives. Because let's be honest, in today's talent market, the companies that can hire anywhere have a massive advantage over the ones still limited by geography.
What does remote work mean?
Think of remote work as a simple trade: you give your team the freedom to work from wherever they're most productive, and they deliver great work without commuting to your office. That "wherever" could be their home office, a beachside café in Bali, the local library, or a coworking space downtown.
The deal is straightforward. Your employees get flexibility, you get their best work. They skip the commute and design their workday around when they're most effective. You get access to talent anywhere in the world, not just within driving distance of your headquarters.
Some companies do full remote (no office at all), others offer hybrid options (come in Tuesday and Thursday, work from home the rest), and some let employees choose what works best for them. The specifics matter less than the result: when you trust your team to manage their own workspace, they tend to reward that trust with better focus, higher productivity, and a lot more loyalty.
Smart employers have figured out that where someone sits matters a lot less than what they deliver. And when you're building a global team, that shift in thinking opens up possibilities you didn't even know existed.
Read more: Telework vs. Remote Work
Levels of remote work
Allowing remote work doesn't necessarily mean your workforce is out of the office full-time. There are different tiers of remote work that mean your workforce can be in or out of the office, or a bit of both.
- Remote work option. Companies with a remote work option aren't remote companies and don't consider themselves to be, but they do make allowances for remote work. These are sometimes called "flex days" or "remote Monday/Friday," where employees can work remotely on days they have an appointment or special circumstance, or on specifically appointed remote days.
- Temporarily remote. A temporarily remote company is fully or partially remote, with the understanding that it is not permanent, and employees will be expected to go back into the office at a later date.
- Hybrid. A hybrid model is a company that is split between remote and in-office employees. These companies have employees who report to an office, fully remote employees who always work from home, and some employees who do both.
- Remote-first. Remote-first companies have an office but still consider themselves remote companies. The office could be used as an occasional meeting space or a place where employees can infrequently visit. Typically, the office cannot house the entire workforce.
- Fully remote. Fully remote companies typically do not have an office for employees to visit, and all work is conducted on virtual platforms. These companies have strategies and technology in place to effectively manage a remote team.
Why do people work remotely?
Most remote employees cite flexibility as the biggest benefit of working from home. Remote jobs allow your employees to work from anywhere they want and take care of personal or familial obligations that arise during the workday. Parents of young children are especially drawn to remote work, as it can allow them to take care of their children while working.
Remote work pros and cons
While some people enjoy remote work because it allows them more freedom to travel and prioritizes work-life balance, others miss the connection with coworkers and the collaborative nature of in-office work.
Remote work pros:
- Provides more freedom and autonomy for employees
- Reduces the cost of office space and supplies for employers
- Prioritizes work-life balance and flexibility
- Increases productivity among employees
Remote work cons:
- Reduces face-to-face communication between employees
- Decreases collaboration among teams
- Makes some employees feel lonely or isolated
How much do remote employees make?
According to ZipRecruiter, virtual employees in the U.S. make an average of about $53,400 per year in 2023. The remote salary range goes from about $28,500 to about $79,000, depending on the type of remote work and experience. For example, there are several high-paying remote jobs in the tech industry.
Remote employees don't need to worry about earning less than their in-office counterparts. In fact, employers have noted that they don't plan to dock the pay of employees who choose to go remote full-time and will hire fully remote employees at the same rate as in-office employees.
How do remote jobs work?
Remote jobs often make use of technologies like video conferencing, instant messaging services, digital calendars, and communication platforms to keep their workforce aligned and connected.
While working remotely, employees are expected to check in via these platforms and tune in to any mandatory meetings that are held over a video conferencing service. Work is often turned in via email or project management software, and feedback or notes are given virtually.
Your remote teams can work synchronously or asynchronously, depending on the time zones where the team is located.
- Synchronous work. Your entire team logs on and off at the same time. Video meetings can be held for the team, and there is an expectation that messages will be answered quickly.
- Asynchronous work. Your team is not expected to be online at the same time, and work is done independently with little collaboration. Messages do not need a quick response, and team members in different time zones or who do not work at the same time do not depend on each other to get work done.
Is remote work effective?
Most companies that have gone remote report that it has been a success-87%, to be exact. Employees reported that their productivity from home is on par with or greater than it was in the office.
Most employees attribute their productivity to the ability to work when it's convenient for them. Someone who doesn't function well early in the morning can get started later and work later, meaning they will spend their most productive hours working. If they had to be in an office by 9, they might spend the first few hours of their day idly.
Should your talent work remote? Remote work is an ideal option for many companies, but there are a few factors to consider before switching to a remote model. For example, going remote forces you to rethink the way you handle HR, daily work, remote talent management, and more.
A few questions to ask yourself before enabling remote work for your talent:
- Do we have the systems in place to let talent work remotely?
- Are team leaders comfortable managing talent from outside the office?
- Will we let talent work remotely outside our jurisdiction in new states, territories, or countries?
- If we let talent work in new jurisdictions, are we prepared to comply with local labor laws in those markets?
- Do we have the financial, legal, and HR resources to support talent working remotely in new markets?
What jobs can be done from home?
Virtually any job that is done on a computer or phone can be done from home. Popular remote work includes things like sales, technology, marketing, graphic design, content creation, or web development.
Over the past year, though, some jobs that have traditionally been hesitant to allow remote work, like financial or defense positions, have begun allowing their employees to work from home. Others that may not seem fit for remote work - like health care and construction - are also starting to find ways to make it work.
According to Think Remote, the following jobs are considered some of the best remote jobs in 2023:
- Software developer
- Data entry specialist
- Virtual assistant
- Product manager
- Actuary
- Information security analyst
- Digital marketer
- Transcriptionist
- Content Writer
- Translator
- Social media manager
- Web designer
- Onboarding specialist
Remote working for global teams
Once you embrace remote work, something interesting happens. Suddenly, that perfect candidate doesn't need to live within 50 miles of your office. They could be in Tokyo, Toronto, or Taipei, and it doesn't matter because geography just stopped being your limitation.
This changes everything about how you build teams. You're not fishing in a small talent pool anymore; you've got the whole ocean. That senior engineer who speaks three languages and understands your target market? They're available. The designer who brings a completely fresh perspective because they grew up halfway around the world? They're interested.
But let's be real about the challenges. When your team spans time zones, that morning standup gets complicated. You'll master the art of finding meeting times that don't require anyone to join at 3 a.m. You'll become fluent in asynchronous communication, documentation becomes your best friend, and you'll learn why "over-communicate" isn't a bad word when half your team is sleeping while the other half works.
The real complexity? Every country has its own rules about employment. What counts as overtime in Spain isn't the same as in Singapore. Vacation requirements, tax withholdings, benefits packages-each country does it differently. Trying to stay compliant everywhere can quickly turn into a full-time job you didn't sign up for.
That's where an Employer of Record (EOR) changes the game. Instead of becoming an international employment law expert overnight, you partner with someone who already knows the rules in every country where you want to hire. You focus on finding great people; they handle making it legal.
Build your dream remote team with an EOR
Want to hire that brilliant developer in Berlin or that marketing genius in Mexico City? Pebl makes it happen, without the legal maze.
As an EOR service, we handle the complex stuff (employment contracts, payroll, taxes, benefits) in 185+ countries, so you can focus on what matters: building an incredible team. No setting up foreign entities. No midnight panic about compliance. Just seamless hiring, wherever your best talent happens to live.
We take the friction out of global employment. Your team gets paid correctly and on time. You get peace of mind and a competitive edge. Everyone wins.
Ready to hire anywhere? Let's talk about turning your global team vision into reality.
Disclaimer: This information does not, and is not intended to, constitute legal or tax advice and is for general informational purposes only. The intent of this document is solely to provide general and preliminary information for private use. Do not rely on it as an alternative to legal, financial, taxation, or accountancy advice from an appropriately qualified professional. The content in this guide is provided "as is," and no representations are made that the content is error-free.
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