Virtualization of Cross-Border Labor Migration

Abstract

Under virtual labor migration, or telemigration, in the expert community it is customary to understand remote work or the provision of services that are carried out in a cross-border format. The presence of the word migration in this term logically prompts us to consider the designated process in a migration context. From the standpoint of the concept of migration transition, the spread of virtual migration can be interpreted as a new link in the chain of mobility transformations generated by multifaceted digital transformations. With this kind of migration, a person crosses only virtual borders of states and, without leaving the country of residence, actually works outside it and performs the tasks of a foreign customer in a remote electronic mode. The short duration and rapid turnover of most jobs in cyberspace makes this process extremely circulatory, uncharacteristic of traditional labor relations. So far, this employment model has been limited in scope, but it is rapidly developing, having gained great momentum in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic, and may become significant in the future. While paying dividends to workers and employers interacting in global digitalized labor markets, virtual migration simultaneously exacerbates chronic imbalances and generates new sources of social tension. They are connected, among other things, with the global asymmetry of socioeconomic and digital development, the emergence of new factors and areas of competition for workers in the labor market, and insufficient social protection of the workers. Optimization of the development of virtual migration could be facilitated by comprehensive regulatory measures at the level of international organizations, states, and companies.

The impact of the digital economy on employment and labour market transformations: The main trends

“…The distribution of information, communication, and computer technologies change the perception of the standard workplace. Opportunities for additional, remote, flexible or virtual employment are expanding [27]. This is consistent with the data of the study [15] according to which during 2014-2018, Americans tended to choose freelance work, despite the strengthening of the labour market, which offered more full-time jobs.…”