Even before this pandemic, I have been on a job hunt. Yes, I am a fulltime employee. Yes my job has been fulfilling over the years. My perpetual job hunt has therefore been for two main reasons 1) I always like to keep abreast of what is available out there in my field, and 2) As I got older and refocused my life priorities away from simply working to pay bills, I have looked for more flexibility with the aim of a better work-life balance and to be more present for my family. Also, always on the top of my mind, the need to do away with my daily 180min commute.
So I have scoured hundreds of sites, both traditional outlets and emerging ones, looking for remote work opportunities — CONSTANTLY!! I have delved into the free sites, I have subscribed to dedicated remote work sites. I have seen numerous scams and I have discovered some good legitimate leads.
Throughout this search, I have found a common thread — finding true work from anywhere opportunities for Caribbean-based talent is HARD and oftentimes feels like playing the Lottery!
But why you may ask? My research shows a variety of reasons – employment laws in the different jurisdictions being the main one (and I guess the one with the most red tape to work around), especially in the more attractive markets such as the United States of America, Canada or the United Kingdom. HOWEVER, I am constantly researching as I am personally aware of several exceptions where persons have snagged permanent full-time positions with all the perks for growth, development and upward mobility. Are you aware of any?
So yes, opportunities exist. What other reasons do you think or have encountered that would limit opportunities for Caribbean workers to access working for an international company – remotely?
On the other hand and in the midst of all of this, the earning opportunities that are easily accessible are oftentimes menial, very low paying, repetitive and therefore (to some) really not engaging. A lot of these are presented as very short term ‘gigs’. But, it definitely still pays right? So again, an opportunity.
But let’s look closer to home. What about the Caribbean? Even before the pandemic, some corporate entities were willing to embrace work-from-home/anywhere. In Jamaica, Nestle was a main trendsetter. Since the pandemic,
we can agree more companies are coming around – because they really had no choice – with the proverbial gun to the head, pivot or perish. Will this be permanent? Is it just a phase? What do you think?
As this pandemic pushes more and more Caribbean companies online (new and established ones) wouldn’t we say there should … I will emphasize SHOULD … be an increase in remote work opportunities? Are we seeing the full extent of this now or will this definitely be a forward moving trend?
Of course we still have those die-hard archaic operations that are totally against remote work, even reluctant to contemplate a hybrid set-up – even where the type of business could benefit from the shift, a boon to the bottom line per se, with perhaps reduced overheads? Are they wrong to want to stick to the traditional?
All in all, the issue at hand here is whether international or in the Caribbean, remote work/work-from-anywhere opportunities do exist. Evidence shows that 1) this shift to more acceptance in the Caribbean due to the
sheer impact of the pandemic, is here to stay, even if not totally, and 2) International opportunities for Caribbean based talent do exist. What does not exist however is a dedicated space the clear and dedicated opportunities for both Caribbean opportunities as well as international ones.
Through The MotiveBoard community, we want to shift not only the narrative but also reduce the gap and provide a frictionless process of accessibility between local, regional and global opportunities and local talent. Our aim is to build out a network that will continue dismantling the shackles of the daily commute, providing more location independence while we create worthwhile income streams and still have balanced productive lives — not chained to the mandate of doing work means in-office, face to face on the daily. Let’s take some lessons beyond this pandemic.
Share your thoughts, share this article and let’s officially get this Caribbean conversation going and who knows — influence change?? Let’s go!
I have been looking for legitimate remote working opportunities for over 5 years and can’t understand why this serms to be such a difficult find.
If opportunities for persons to work remotely from the Caribbean is available. Why aren’t Caribbean people offered opportunities to work remotely from here?
I am totally confused.
I do agree with you. It is frustrating. But to be honest there are opportunities out there. It is just so time consuming and overwhelming to spend the time and find them more easily. Especially if you are already in a full time job with limited spare time. That has been my experience why I wanted to find a space like this so we can share experiences and for those who have been ‘lucky’ for us to learn from them too.
“finding true work from anywhere opportunities for Caribbean-based talent is HARD and oftentimes feels like playing the Lottery!”
This is indeed hard. In the heights of the COVID pandemic in 2020, I tried extremely hard to find web development gigs on the internet. While there were many opportunities, the people from the far east were far more successful.
It seems technological Caribbean talent has not yet breached the barriers in the global landscape. Maybe the years of promoting hospitality as our primary economic earner has hidden many of our other endowments.
Thanks for this input and feedback Delroy. The best time to shake things up was yesterday, the next best time is now. We really have to step up our game for Caribbean talent.