Recently, remote working has become a basic employee right for the job market rather than an exclusive benefit that companies offer to attract talent. According to the Owl Lab’s State of Remote Work in 2021 report, 16% of companies globally are fully-remote and around 62% of employees aged 22 to 65 say they work remotely at least occasionally. However, legal restrictions are still there, especially for tax regulations during hiring processes. Therefore, many remote opportunities still require relocation from their employees based on their offices or headquarters. Looking on the bright side, in Europe, especially for non-EU citizens, this allows new talents to get a residence permit to start a new life in another country even though they can work fully remotely. If you’re someone who is looking for a remote job opportunity and dreaming about enjoying the beauty of Amsterdam canals at the same time, keep reading! We’re here to give you all the insights about remote working culture in Europe’s hottest city Amsterdam.
Amsterdam as the new hub for expats and remote job opportunities in Europe
Amsterdam has been known as one of the most expat-friendly cities in Europe. In I Am Expat’s study, the Dutch capital has ranked as the sixth-best city for remote working. This is mostly due to the high percentage of English speakers (91%) that removes the language barrier for non-Dutch speakers. Anyone you can pop into in your daily life like cashiers, waiters, and bartenders speaks fluent English as well as many workers of government institutions. This vibrant international city is a great opportunity, especially for people who would like to grow their careers in industries like biotechnology, fintech, SaaS, e-commerce, or cybersecurity. Also the percentage of jobs on offer that present remote work opportunities are now more than 25%.
In order to provide a good working environment for remote workers, the city is a major player in the co-working sector, with a growing number of communal workspaces popping up across the city. There are many cool co-working spaces or cafes that are designed precisely for freelancers or people who work fully remotely. Alongside enjoying cafe-hopping during your work days, you can also benefit from memberships of business lounges like Regus or Mindspace. Here you can check many more cool options for your new personal office in Amsterdam.
Furthermore, Amsterdam was found to be well-prepared for a shift to international remote work in 2021 and ranked fourth in Europe as well. Besides working from home, working from anywhere is also getting more common day by day among Dutch companies. Working from anywhere allows the employees to work from their home country or anywhere in the world which eliminates any requirements for relocalization and meetings that need to be held in person. Considering the value that Dutch people give to work-life balance, this new way of working is expected to become very prevalent soon.
Work-life balance as a priority in the Dutch work culture
Speaking of work-life balance, another gem that makes Amsterdam (the Netherlands in general) an attractive place for expats is that working overtime is rarely encouraged in the Dutch work culture. Therefore, “flexible working” doesn’t mean being expected to keep working from your bed before you get to sleep. It means what it means: complete your tasks whenever and however you want as long as you stick to your deadlines. Moreover, the number of companies with a 4 day work week policy keeps increasing! We proudly say that PCN is also one of these companies that put people first and value their employees’ mental health and off-work time. Are you wondering how we achieved this? Read about it from our COO Victoria Hammond!
If you’re eager to turn the hipster cafes in Amsterdam into your new office environment and walk around the beautiful canals with a cup of coffee during your lunch break, apply for remote job opportunities based in Europe now! Not sure if you’re a good fit for any of these positions or not? No worries, we got your back! Submit your CV now and let our consultants find the best remote opportunities for your background!
