Start-up Jobbatical provides way for people to work anywhere in the world

IT’S the dream result for every sun-deprived office dweller. Now one start-up is providing a way for tech workers to use their skills anywhere in the world.

Supplied Editorial isabel hirama

LIVING in Sydney, working in Barcelona and jetting off to Thailand for projects. Welcome to the world of Jobbatical — where spending your life at work doesn’t mean staying in one place.

The Estonia based start-up — named for ‘job’ and ‘sabbatical’ — was founded by former television producer Karoli Hindriks who wanted a way of using her skills to work overseas.

It provides a way for digital natives to spend between one and 12 months on sabbatical anywhere from South East Asia to Europe. A quick browse of current listings reveals jobs for a Java developer in Budapest, as a mobile publisher in Barcelona or “creative ninja” in Mumbai.

“We like to joke that a jobbatical is sort of like dating before marriage” said chief marketing officer Isabel Hirama. She’s currently working as a “digital nomad” in Montreal after taking her own jobbatical to head office in Estonia and said it’s the perfect way to trial a new job and country.

“If it didn’t go that great, then no hard feelings, they don’t have to continue but if they like each other they can commit to something more serious.”

She said the stints on offer for digital designers and developers, marketers and social media experts are a win-win for employees who want to travel and start-ups who can access talent they might not be able to convince to move there full time.

“[A start-up] probably wouldn’t be able to get someone from Silicon Valley to move to Myanmar to work for them …. but if they’re just saying ‘hey come work for us for six months’, that’s a crazy adventure,” she said.

It’s the latest trend in a burgeoning ‘gig economy’ that is revolutionising industries from travel to transport, food and fashion. University of Canberra Economics Professor Phil Lewis said Uber is the darling of this new mode of work based on specific gigs for short periods of time.

“The concept of “employer” has little meaning to these workers since they are better regarded as self-employed selling a service in much the same way as a greengrocer sells apples,” he said. Who needs to sit in a cubicle for 40 hours a week when you can Airbnb your apartment, drive Uber or sell your services on Task Rabbit at a time that suits you?

Ms Hirama said most of those using Jobbatical are looking for a break between jobs or permanent freelancers who want access to a different industry. Pay and benefits are up to the worker and the company to decide in what she thinks is a trend we will see more of in the next decade.

“People are going to see themselves as more empowered in their careers,” she said.

“They don’t have to just find a job and stick to it because it’s a job, they can be looking for something that really excites them and that they love to do and when they want to do something else they can go and follow their passion to the next thing or country or continent”.

The UK’s Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development chief economist Mark Beatson agreed the rise of self-employed and entrepreneurial workers is “pretty much inevitable” in all sectors thanks to new technology.

“What we’re seeing now is technology creating the circumstance where people can try things out with a little bit less of an all or nothing element to it,” he said, adding it’s the perfect way to try a new type of work without making a major commitment.

He said it’s ideal for those who want flexible arrangements around childcare and to broaden their skills, while also showing employers you’re prepared to adapt to a different way of working. Downsides include lack of potential benefits like superannuation, maternity and health insurance, as well as the risk it might be hard to demonstrate long-term commitment.

“How do you codify your experience in this pop-up economy where you’re doing little bits and pieces all over the place? Which may be great fun, may be great variety but in a sense when you want to go for that next step upwards perhaps a full time job with a big company, how do you persuade them you’ve actually got the experience and knowledge?” he said.

For Ms Hirama, Australia has huge potential as a jobbatical destination because “everyone in the world wants to go there” and the company wants to change the way people think about work.

“The idea of shorter term contracts not being a bad thing but actually being an advantage in your career, we think that’s actually going to come into play within the next decade,” she said.

Would you quit your job to work in another country? Continue the conversation on Twitter @newsomauHQ | @Victoria_Craw | @Jobbatical

Originally published as Start-up Jobbatical provides way for people to work anywhere in the world