By our correspondent in Reunion, Jéromine DOUX.
The Covid-19 crisis was the trigger. Since 2020, many “digital nomads” have chosen Reunion Island to telework. Self-employed people or employees who, often, have kept their clients or their employer, but carry out their jobs 9,000 kilometers from France.
At the edge of the swimming pool, in a hotel overlooking the bay of Saint-Gilles-les-Bains, west of Reunion, Jérémy, Bérénice, Maxime, Emma, Jean-Baptiste and Vanessa scrutinize their computer screens. The atmosphere is studious, just a stone’s throw from vacationers enjoying an aquagym class. Every week, these teleworkers meet in a public place to work together and break the isolation, via a group they created on social networks, called “Bann coworkers”.
All have chosen to settle in Reunion, but most continue to work for companies based in France. Jean-Baptiste Parizot, IT project manager, arrived in Saint-Denis at the beginning of 2021. “My partner and I had this project in mind for several years. We wanted to settle here for the quality of life, to leave Paris to raise our son, and then the low time difference (two to three hours) made things easier for me, specifies the professional who has kept his main client in Paris. Just after the Covid-19 crisis, when we hadn’t seen each other for several months, my client had no problem with me working from Reunion Island. he specifies.
Coworking spaces flourishing on the island
A “Covid effect” which has benefited many employees and self-employed people. “We saw a lot of teleworking people settling on the island at that time. Whereas when I arrived at the beginning of 2019, I met few people in the same situation as me,” explains Maxime Renaux, an IT development engineer who works for a Parisian company.
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A trend towards “relocation”, which is not abating according to the “digital nomads” who have been present on the island for several years. “I know quite a few people who have been there for two, three years and who have no intention of leaving. And then, we also see a lot of new ones arriving,” completes Jean-Baptiste Parizot. Nicolas Marand, an independent web designer, initially thought he would stay on the island for a year. “Today, it’s been more than two years, and we no longer want to leave,” launches the 44-year-old professional for whom the installation in Reunion “was a big challenge.”
The creation of coworking spaces, almost everywhere on the island in recent years, also testifies to the arrival in large numbers of teleworkers. In Saint-Paul, Sainte-Marie, Saint-Louis or Saint-Pierre, these spaces attract professionals who wish to reconcile work and quality of life in a tropical setting. According to INSEE (National Institute of Statistics and Economic Studies), 25,000 of the 270,000 jobs on the island are held by self-employed people.
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“Sun all year round”
Reunion Island indeed meets many criteria for teleworkers. “There are really a lot of exchanges with the mainland, the island’s infrastructure is developing and we can train,” underlines Jean-Baptiste Parizot, who has just completed training in artificial intelligence. But above all, it is the lifestyle that attracts. “We go to the beach with the children all year round. Winter days, stuck at home when it rains, it’s over, says Maxime Renaux with a broad smile. For Vanessa Moreno, “working in Reunion Island is the dream. For the balance of life, the sun all year round but also for the low time difference with European countries”, specifies this consultant in the “web 3”, employee of a Swiss company.
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However, 100% teleworking has its limits. “You can easily spend your days alone, at home. And it’s sometimes complicated to motivate yourself and meet people.” confides Nicolas Marand. For Vanessa Moreno, it is above all the questioning of teleworking that is to be feared. “More and more companies are starting to backtrack for fear of losing control over their employees. Teleworking is gradually being called into question,” underlines the consultant for whom this way of working “yet allows us to increase people’s productivity and creativity.”
