Yves has come to work at home for a long time and has been very suitable for me, because I am allergic to conference and office politics, which has created new class inequality. Not only is the super rich and the executive each living in their own class, but also only medium classroom knowledge. Workers now do not need to commute every day…The price is sometimes having to fight with the children under their feet.

Although shelter-in-place is obviously preferable to having to show up and confront colleagues and clients who may be carrying Covid, I am still troubled by the loss of international travel. It’s not that I have any plans to go abroad in the near future, for reasons of cost and time, and concerns about Covid. But I do remember the fond memories of seeing the world in the McKinsey Project, and I got a large international intermediary in an independent consulting job (although I must always work during this period), and used my dime to travel abroad.

The mention of nomadic visas in this article particularly touched me because it is something I should study. Given that the United States is becoming more and more a predatory/ rentier society, and the elderly are easy to choose, I really need to be an expat. But Covid means that even if money is not an obstacle, I cannot conduct due diligence. For example, I have been to Croatia and Costa Rica briefly, and stayed in Portugal a little longer, but it is not enough to give people more than the general impression, “good place, friendly to tourists”, which is hardly enough. Basic information for relocation decision. In theory, they are not the only place on the list.

It is a bit long-winded to say that the mobility of knowledge workers is not as arbitrary as this article suggests. But on the other side of the debate, the huge advantage of being able to (try to) survive the pandemic at home still exists.

Author: Agnieszka Weinar, an adjunct research professor at the Institute of Europe, Russia and Eurasian Studies at Carleton University, a former scientific coordinator and researcher at the European University Institute in Florence, and a policy officer of the European Commission.Originally published on Open democracy

The COVID pandemic has changed the way we view liquidity privileges. If before the pandemic, cross-border movement was a privilege of high skill, then during the pandemic, we saw a new privilege: immobility.

Historically, liquidity has been related to two types of privileges, from financial or cultural capital. In other words, the rich or highly educated (or both) can enjoy lower risk and relatively easy global mobility. Think of “global professionals” or “global mobile elites” or “global talent competitions.” Having skills or money means that the world is within reach, and the mobility restrictions associated with passports may be easier to overcome than others in society.

The pandemic that brought the world to a standstill in 2020 exacerbated the privilege of liquidity and emphasized the importance of capital or skills, just like all epidemics in history.

In 2020, people with capital or skills can move freely without suffering economic losses, and they will survive the difficulties on the planet. SingaporeFor example, due to low infection rates and fairly limited sanitation restrictions, it has become a popular hiding place for the super-rich in Asia.

Those who do not have the funds but have the right skills and a good Internet connection can choose to benefit from the development of the new policy.For example, a Croatia’s digital nomad visa Many middle-class and highly skilled immigrants with unstable working conditions have realized a way of life. If they stay in the super expensive urban hotspots through remote work, they will not be able to afford it.

Anecdotal evidence suggests that temporary labor immigrants from countries with similar health care standards—for example, workers in the European Union or Europeans working in the U.S. or Canada—decided to return to their home country, and Work from there.

The privilege of staying in place

However, the epidemic has brought about a new phenomenon: its own way.

The privilege of movement becomes the privilege of immobility: choose to stay still and remain safe.Those who are able to work from home can do this-but only 25% In fact, all workers in the United States can work completely from home.

The ability to work from home is also the result of financial capital or a specific skill set.

Immigrants who can complete work online are more likely to continue working or find new jobs than those whose work requires them to be on-site.This means that highly skilled immigrants engaged in so-called “non-essential” occupations are less affected by the lockdown than others group.

This non-mobile privilege is also reflected in the practice of recruiting employees for positions around the world without requiring them to move to a country. Recruiting remotely to a virtual office has become more palatable for employers, and employees have adapted to the new requirements.This trend-the growth of remote work across time zones-is Biggest unknown The post-pandemic labor market.

However, highly skilled people do not always view immobility as a privilege. For many highly skilled immigrants who wish to move to a new country, the pandemic means it is difficult to delay.In the main destination of immigrants, such as Canada For example, halving immigration has left thousands of highly skilled immigrants waiting for an unknown future.

What’s next?

It is too early to understand the full impact of the pandemic on the flow of highly skilled migrants. Mainly because liquidity data is still unavailable and research is ongoing. However, the future of high-skill mobility itself will be one of the most important effects of the pandemic. As the company shifts to a virtual office model, international recruitment may become redundant, and talent competition will be conducted entirely online.

The potential for reducing high-skilled immigration and making better use of the global skill pool through remote work is huge. However, such a trend may bring about major social changes and turbulence. One result may be more virtual domestic workers: those who are ready to work and use their skills but will not move between regions can now be hired to work in companies far away in the same country.

Another consequence may be the migration of high-skilled jobs to foreign workers with skills in the international market. In this case, the immigration policy will mainly focus on low-skilled workers, who often risk their lives to emigrate abroad. Any post-pandemic immigration policy should take these trends into account.