Decoding Global Talent, Onsite and Virtual

For decades, the United States was the top destination for many foreign workers, and millions of people around the world were willing to relocate to another country for work. The authors of this report, who have studied global public opinion on these since 2014, found for the first time that Canada has replaced the U.S. as the top foreign employment destination, and fewer people, in general, want to move abroad for work. To arrive at these findings, 209,000 people in 190 countries were surveyed. While the findings contradict previous narratives about the fluidity of talent in a global economy, they also demonstrate a growing flexibility towards remote work. For instance, despite the drop in the number of people wanting to relocate to the U.S. to find work, the U.S. remained the top choice for international remote employment. Additionally, more than half of respondents said that they would work remotely for an employer with no physical presence in their home country. According to the report, these findings are reflections of changes in the workplace and global consciousness as a result of the pandemic, shifting immigration policies and a rise in nationalism. The report suggests that businesses and governments must understand and respond to these evolving attitudes to ensure that workplace demand is met. (Georgia Whitaker for The Immigrant Learning Center’s Public Education Institute)