Remote work is shaped by geopolitics, not technology
By Srividya Jandhyala | Published: 2025-10-26 06:00:00 | Source: Fast Company – leadership
Once upon a time, the big idea was simple – work from anywhere! Thanks to advances in technology, you don’t need to be tied to your desk to collaborate with (or exchange photos with) coworkers. As long as you have your laptop and good Wi-Fi, you can be poolside on a tropical island, drink in hand, watching a gorgeous sunset in the background.
Forward-thinking companies will realize that talent can be found in unexpected places. Employees can mix and match their work with the life they love. Governments will enable this through special digital nomad visa offers. The whole world will become one big, friendly workplace.
Hold this thought. Before you trade suits for flip-flops, you should realize that the future of work may not be what you envisioned. An alternative future is taking shape, as geopolitics shapes who works, the location of work, and the type of work. Driven by concerns about national security and a tendency to support “corporate” companies at the expense of “others,” governments are reshaping the future of work.
Your work remotely (Can you do work remotely?)
The first promise of remote work was the potential to democratize work. More people from all over the world can access jobs in a more distributed model of talent and collaboration. Ideas flow across the world and organizations benefit from global intelligence. But this promise collides with geopolitical reality.
Take the case of Apple. When the company began moving some of its manufacturing operations to India, it needed to hire workers on a large scale. According to Economic times a reportApple’s ecosystem in India was expected to create 600,000 jobs. But who works in these facilities has become an increasingly fraught geopolitical question.
Initially there were hundreds of Chinese engineers and technicians supporting Apple’s expansion into India. but More than 300 of them were asked to return to China recently. The recall of engineers – the second in recent months – was seen as a push by China to limit technology transfer to Indian operations and prevent the exit of manufacturing from the country. To continue operations, Apple’s suppliers turned to engineers from Taiwan.
Driven by geopolitical goals, government restrictions increasingly limit who can work on pioneering or cutting-edge projects, which individuals a company can hire, and how long they can stay in those roles.
Global companies are taking a hard look at their workforce and making tough choices about who can work on different types of projects. Technology companies in Silicon Valley are on the rise Security audit Of potential recruits to keep business information safe. Changing tariff rates could threaten millions of jobs in Asia and elsewhere. Thai workers Solar cell manufacturing is bearing the brunt of the wide-ranging China-US trade war Study of foreign managers In listed Chinese companies, I found that as political relations deteriorated, foreign directors were more likely to exit their roles. On the other hand, scientists in US federal agencies facing layoffs – especially those with expertise in artificial intelligence – have been targeted for employment in research operations in China.
Your work remotely (Can you do work remotely?)
The second promise of remote work is that work can be done from anywhere. As technology continues to improve, employees no longer need to be in the office or even in the country. Digital nomads have transcended cities, countries, or even continents. You can log in to work while visiting your family in another country. You embrace a more flexible lifestyle. But geopolitical reality strikes again.
As countries assert sovereignty, data security, and the protection of strategic interests, the data, models, and technology resources that can be used from other countries become more limited. the Financial Times It stated that foreign universities and research institutes lost access to China’s largest academic database. More countries are adopting data localization laws, which require companies to store certain types of data within the country to protect national security. the The United States restricts Transferring citizens’ data to the concerned countries
Such requirements make it difficult to access data and information from another country, even for employees of the same company. For example, American business travelers to China may not have access to business email. Financial analysts who work at a feverish pace to evaluate deal opportunities may find that they need to be on the ground in a particular market to access relevant data, not because the technology to transfer that data to another country does not exist, but because political interests prevent such data from being transferred abroad. Some companies require employees traveling to certain countries to use temporary loan phones and not Bring company laptops. Without a reliable laptop, expect disruptions to work and productivity.
Your work remotely (Can you do work remotely?)
The final promise of remote work is that technology will allow you to do your job; For example, performing the same tasks you did when it was business as usual. But geopolitics has changed the job descriptions of many employees.
Focusing on the teams, operations, or finances of the company was the typical mandate of a manager. With proper routines in place, these tasks can be completed from a remote location. But today’s managers have to take on different tasks. Consider Jensen Huang, CEO of NVIDIA, the world’s most valuable company. For many years, Mr. Hwang avoided the rough-and-tumble world of lobbying in Washington, preferring the company of video gamers.
But as the company’s AI chips became embroiled in global politics, Mr. Hwang’s work changed. He has traveled the world to persuade lawmakers to ease sales of his company’s chips. became a Geopolitical star Convince leaders from the United States to China of his company’s role in their vision.
Mr. Huang is not alone. luck There have been reports of how companies are creating teams to track political developments and quickly present options to leadership — but those team members have given up their day jobs entirely. With the need to listen to reality and interact with political actors, working remotely becomes increasingly difficult.
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(Tags for translation) Geopolitical conflict
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