A global workforce needs digital currency
Wandering Across the Blockchain — Volume 2
Recent events have driven the workforce into telecommuting, video conferencing, and working from home whenever possible. Will this remote work and education environment create a demand for digital currency?
There is a trend among technology firms to recruit and retain employees by creating non-traditional work environments. Catered meals, entertainment breaks, flexible hours, and employers focusing on employee job satisfaction are becoming new standards in many industries.
Across the world, distance learning is becoming the new normal. Even if the current pandemic resolves, this transition from a more traditional brick and mortar style school environment could start a move to reduce costs by continuing this trend into the future. In the current technology world, it is increasingly common to gain an affordable education online. (The student loan crisis might solve itself with the reduced tuition obtained by doing away with costly administrative positions and high dollar real estate a physical campus requires.)
The current workforce is embracing working from home on a scale never before seen. Information sharing and work from home efficiency will likely be at the forefront of coming technological innovation making it even easier. What started as a reaction to a pandemic may just become the start of new trends that change the way we work, where we choose to live, and how we are paid for that work. How might these lifestyle changes impact the need for a new economic system, and how might digital currency may be a scalable solution?
Currently, certain technological specialties are in high demand around the world. Many of these types of jobs can be done from anywhere. Clients on one continent hire coders from another continent because they are the best people for the job. Even many jobs that were traditionally considered to require in person contact are increasingly being subject to worldwide remote employment pressures. Technology allowed for communication across distances and removed barriers such as language translation and workflow management. In the sectors where this is common, electronic payments are also common. Growth in completely online banks is proof this concept is being accepted by more and more people.
Cryptocurrency allows for trustless, nearly instant cross border payments, requires no import/export tax, has no expensive and time consuming government oversight. It requires no banks, no permissions, and does not allow for seizure by outside forces. That all said, many governments have laws, rules, and regulations that govern the use of cryptocurrency and I would never advocate for breaking any law that applies wherever you reside. It is important to point this out because where you reside may be increasingly your choice, rather than controlled by a need to be physically close to a specific workplace. Is it possible certain countries that are more friendly to digital payments may attract talent to reside there because of better digital asset regulations or lower taxes? Within the United States currently there are discrepancies in tax law. Perhaps a state like Nevada, which has no income tax currently, might adopt a no cryptocurrency tax policy and become a haven for US based coders?
This type of paradigm shift could change the lifestyle for those living in higher priced labor markets. Instead of choosing to locate in San Francisco for example, where real estate is so expensive, companies could choose to locate anywhere there is a reasonable internet connection. Could those same companies drastically cut expenses by having their workforce distributed across the globe and moving their headquarters to a less expensive real estate market where the cost of living is lower? In a foreshadowing of this exact possibility, it would seem Amazon has already made this choice with their move to create HQ2 outside of the Seattle area. At some point, I would expect other technology markets to become just as competitive for consumer spending as Amazon. This would likely include looking to increase efficiency by cutting costs and reducing a company’s real estate costs.
In the past, industrialized nations exported manufacturing jobs to developing nations to cut costs. The barriers to entry for that move were high as they required a shipping infrastructure and the development of the “just in time” system of inventory. The flow of information across the internet is certainly an established “shipping” mechanism. Cryptocurrency can provide the method for instant cross border payments. If there is a need for regulatory oversight, smart contracts could provide ways to make this a reality. The possibilities are many, it will just require the first company to take that competitive advantage. After that, the rest will follow, or be left behind.
About the author: CoinWanderer joined the Sesameseed community after admiring its values of transparency and providing a community voice in blockchain staking and governance. Sesameseed was such a different project with a unique mission, CW joined the team and is currently Head of Operations. CW can often be found represented by one of his favorite ocean dwelling creatures (the spiny lobster). CW can be reached on Telegram @CoinWanderer, or in Sesameseed’s Telegram room.
This article is a featured contribution from a community member. The views, thoughts and opinions expressed here are the author’s alone and do not necessarily reflect or represent the views and opinions of Sesameseed. They are meant for information purposes only, and are not intended to serve as investment advice or recommendations. They are also not intended to serve as the basis for any investment decision. All investments involve risk and you should conduct your own research when making a decision.
Learn more about staking with Sesameseed on its website. Connect with Sesameseed on Telegram, Twitter, Reddit, Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, YouTube, and Medium.
Follow Sprout, the premiere multichain staking wallet on Twitter.
