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It's December 2023. Rita, a young businesswoman, has just finished meeting with clients in Chennai, India and anticipates meeting friends in Singapore for the holidays two weeks later. An employer-sponsored hybrid work model allows her to work from anywhere. She chooses to work at a guesthouse in Male, Maldives thanks to great Internet connectivity while spending time absorbing the local culture and South Asian cuisine, even trying her hand at snorkeling.
Pre-COVID-19, she would have had to fly back from Chennai, India to snowy Chicago where she resides; go to the office for 10 days; work fighting an arduous jetlag; and then fly back East almost 10 thousand miles to Singapore. Now not only is she significantly reducing her carbon footprint, but she also feels revitalized after her stay in the Maldives, and is happier and more productive.
Not to mention, she has contributed to Maldives' tourism industry. Before COVID-19, tourism was among the fastest-growing sectors in Maldives and Bhutan, with a growth rate that outpaced GDP growth rates. - blog.wb.org/blogs
A version of this article appears in the print on January 28, 2022, of The Himalayan Times.
