Job seekers mulling remote work overseas

Young job seekers in China in search of a better work-life balance are increasingly considering working remotely abroad in response to the pressure of life in big cities and fierce competition in the job market.

InCareer, an app launched in 2021 by employment-centered social media platform LinkedIn, lists opportunities for remote work around the world.

Data from InCareer showed that the number of individuals searching and applying for remote work in China peaked in the fourth quarter last year.

Programmer, sales and business development are the top three fields in which remote workers are being sought, InCareer figures showed. Such workers are showing a preference toward working for Chinese startups overseas, as well as for small and medium-sized foreign companies.

Zhai Lujia, a software engineer in Guangzhou, Guangdong province, started working for an Australian company specializing in software development early this year. He said that nobody checks how many hours he works every day, and that this kind of work structure requires greater self-discipline.

Although his job involves flexible hours and working at various sites, he said that productivity is not compromised.

"My colleagues and I have frequent meetings, during which we discuss our plans," the 39-year-old said. "Considering the time difference, we all agreed to set a core work period of around four hours every day during which we can collaborate, because programming requires a lot of teamwork."

He stressed that he feels engaged and that his job is no different from a traditional one in terms of his tasks and opportunities for promotion.

Zhai, who previously worked from home for a company in Shenzhen, said that he doesn't want an office job again unless it offers a significantly higher salary to cover the cost of driving, parking and commuting.

He said that some overseas companies are interested in hiring Chinese candidates for remote positions like IT specialists because they are able to pay them lower wages.

The rapid rise of remote work is related in part to COVID-19, with global surveys showing that at least 45 percent of jobs shifted to work-from-home positions over the past three years, and office occupancy rates in big cities are still far lower than before the pandemic.

A McKinsey report revealed that more than 50 percent of employees worldwide said they preferred a flexible work model combining office and online work, and only 37 percent were in favor of continuing to work in an office.

Chen Yijing, director of product management at LinkedIn China, said that remote work overseas may help more Chinese companies expand their global footprint.

"With such a model, a domestic company's expenditure on physical administration and human resources is no longer essential when it enters a foreign market. It also empowers innovative startups that are more flexible and adaptable, while pursuing high-speed development and rapidly expanding businesses overseas," she said.