Staying in your pyjamas all day, unlimited access to coffee and snacks, and maybe getting to sneak in a household chore or two are all benefits of working remotely.

But some workers aren’t satisfied with merely working from home; instead, they’re keen to travel the world while holding on to their jobs.

The wonders of the internet has given rise to the ‘digital nomad’ who can work remotely from anywhere in the world.

This notion is particularly popular with younger workers, with 39 per cent of 18- to 24-year-olds considering relocation an option compared to only 9 per cent of those aged 55 or older, a report by ADP Research Institute found.

Flexibility of location is cited by one in six workers as an important factor to them in a job, and nearly two in 10 believe that within five years, it will be the norm in their industry to be able to work remotely from anywhere in the world. 

But some remote workers aren’t willing to wait, and are already taking their work overseas – without telling their employer.

Sneaky work getaways

Experts warn bosses won’t be happy if they find out, and a change in work location without notice could result in official warnings, job losses, and perhaps even financial losses for travel-hungry employees.

“I’ve read through company documents and there’s nothing explicitly or implicitly prohibiting working outside of the country, but I’d rather fly under the radar just in case,” one Reddit user explained of their choice to spend a few months working overseas every year without telling their employer.

“I’m not going to ask permission because I’m going to do it anyways, and I’d rather have the benefit of ‘not knowing’ as opposed to ‘directly going against what I was told and blatantly lying’ in the case I do get caught.”

Another Reddit user wrote, “I did it for about two and a half years across six continents until I was ultimately fired because of a [reorganisation].”

Risks of secret international remote work

Angela Knox, professor of management at the University of Sydney Business School, said working overseas without asking or informing an employer is a breach of trust.

This breach could have major ramifications to both the employee and employer.

“Employers do have a duty of care,” Dr Knox said.

“And it’s very difficult for them to exercise that duty of care if the worker isn’t in a location that they expect them to be in, where they can manage potential risks, for instance.”

If an employee is injured while secretly working overseas, this brings up the important issue of insurance for employers, and brings into question the latter’s liability.

Aaron McEwan, vice-president of research and advisory at Gartner, said other risks include cyber security – particularly if workers connect to unsafe wi-fi networks while travelling – and possible issues with infrastructure cropping up, such as slow internet or connectivity issues.

Employees who work overseas without informing their boss beforehand could also be breaching their organisation’s code of conduct.

They could be liable to pay damages if there was a significant incident such as injury or even have their role terminated, depending on their employment contract, Mr McEwan said.

And keeping your location hidden, even if there are no significant incidents, is not always a given.

Mr McEwan said depending on the level of employee surveillance on employer-provided devices like computers and phones, a worker’s location could be given away by something as simple as an IP address.

“Generally speaking, I think it’s a very high-risk activity for an employee to engage in,” he said.

Exception to the rule

Although full-time, regular employees should think twice before jetting off, independent contractors have more freedom.

This is because employers have a very different relationship with independent contractors than regular employees, and don’t hold as much responsibility if something goes wrong, Dr Knox said.

“If the worker was an independent contractor and self-employed … then it really doesn’t matter where they do that work, as long as they provide that work,” she said.

Sign change is needed

Mr McEwan said the issue of secret travel while remote working shows employees want the freedom and autonomy to work from anywhere – and employers should take the hint.

“Organisations that are looking to attract and retain the best talent in the marketplace should be really looking into this stuff seriously,” he said.

“There’s ways of giving employees the opportunity to work overseas, and lots of different models are emerging around this.”

Digital nomads might traditionally be seen as a backpacker with a laptop, but Mr McEwan said Gartner is seeing the rise of the ‘workcation’, where employees are allowed to explore the world while working if their job is compatible.

“Organisations just have to work out which countries have the relevant visa and right-to-work legislation, the right taxation models, and have the appropriate infrastructure in place,” he said.