Switzerland has fallen to ninth from sixth place as a go-to destination for digital professionals. It lost ground to New Zealand, Singapore and Japan, according to the most recent survey by Boston Consulting group and The Network, looking at changes between 2019 and 2020.

However, this might not be so bad for Swiss companies desperate to find specialists for hard-to-find roles such as artificial intelligence experts or information technology systems administrators.

Make The Job Come To You

The survey found that because of the pandemic, less digital workers were prepared to move abroad for a job. They would rather work virtually for an international employer instead.

Among the 9,900 workers surveyed, 68 percent said they were willing to work remotely for an employer that lacks a physical presence in their country. Swiss companies could go after these professionals which they might not have been able to previously, due to restrictions, such as visa limitations.

Two to Three Days

Employers looking at their existing tech workforce, might want to take note that many would like to jumble up the way they work and combine a mix of fixed and flexible hours.

An overwhelming 95 percent in the survey said that they wanted to work remotely at least once a week, while the vast majority said they wanted to work from home two or three days a week.

Competition For Talent

As with their workers from other segments, digital workers said that besides valuing a competitive salary, feeling esteemed and having a good work-life balance were key in deciding whether to take up a new job.

The survey references that the number of job offers an information technology specialist can have at any one given moment has jumped from around five or six before the pandemic to around 20 or 25 after the pandemic. This could make it all the more worthwhile for companies to take these requests on board.