Where, and how, do you work best? Is it in the office among colleagues, tasks littered with chatty pick-me-ups? From the comfort of home, with minimal distractions in your plushest comfies? Or perhaps on the go, managing a work-life balance around deadlines from sunloungers and cafes?
Yet again, it appears that the latter comes out on top for productivity and mental wellbeing, according to International Workplace Group’s 2025 Work from Anywhere Barometer.
The global leader in hybrid working, which provides workspace solutions for short- and long-term employees in every continent and across every time zone around the world, has released its latest list of the countries favoured by digital nomads – and it’s thrown up a few surprises.
Rome stormed into the top 10 in IWG’s workation report this year
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IWG’s third survey scores 40 global cities on 12 criteria, including the total sunshine hours per year, broadband download speed, the city’s happiness index score, availability of flexible workspaces, cultural quality and sustainability. The availability and cost of digital nomad visas played a big part, as did each city’s proximity to beaches, mountains or national parks. Costs are another major factor, with the following assessed: accommodation, food, transport and coffee.
Regardless of the city, the latest report conducted by IWG and Arup suggests that workplace flexibility could improve productivity by up to 11 per cent. Other takeaways include how 60 per cent of hybrid workers are more likely to extend a holiday to work remotely than this time last year. A staggering 86 per cent of those surveyed said that the availability of flexible workspace is a major factor in their destination choice – proving, perhaps, that digital nomadism isn’t all “work from beach”.
AloJapan.com