The rise of remote work has brought about a curious karma for outsourcing companies in India.

Key Takeaways:

• Outsourcing companies in India have been paying employees peanuts while reaping their clients' benefits.
• These employees explored the opportunity of working remotely, earning up to 5x on the low end.
• Without expert talent, outsourcing companies have been struggling lately.

For years, these companies have been able to rip off their employees with dirt-cheap salaries while amassing big profits by selling their work to foreign clients.

But now, many of these companies are struggling because their employees have figured out that they can get remote jobs themselves and are leaving in droves.

How the Unfair Treatment of Employees Backfired…

I recently spoke with the owner of a big outsourcing firm in India (a friend of a friend), who is desperately trying to hold on to his employees. Over the past two years, more than 50% of his employees have left the company.

The remaining 50% are mostly juniors who have recently joined the company. Hiring new employees has become a nightmare for this outsourcing firm. For every job offer that is accepted, three others are rejected!

The Remote Work Effect

The pandemic has opened the floodgates for remote hiring. Suddenly, many CTOs and hiring managers from Europe and the United States started hiring globally.

This has created a massive opportunity for software engineers and an enormous risk for local companies that pay low salaries.

Two things have happened as a result of this shift to remote work:

• Many clients using outsourcing providers are ditching that model and are now hiring employees directly on contractor agreements.
• Most software engineers in low-wage countries have started applying to remote roles around the world for much higher salaries.

Even if software engineers in low-wage countries are paid a location-indexed salary, they can still earn $40-50k per year on the low end. For a software engineer living in a low-wage country like India, that is already a much higher salary than they would earn working for a local outsourcing company.

Of these, some software engineers can then jump to companies that pay equal salaries to equal roles, regardless of location. The same software engineer could earn $100k+, putting them in the top earning percentile.

This shift to remote work has created serious financial opportunities for software engineers in low-wage countries. However, it has also created a serious risk for local companies that have been able to thrive by paying low salaries and outsourcing their work to foreign clients.

The Karma

The karma of outsourcing companies in India is that they are now facing the consequences of their actions:

• They are struggling to hold on to their employees.
• Plus, they're having a difficult time hiring new ones.

The pandemic has opened up a world of opportunities for software engineers, and they are taking advantage of it. As a result, outsourcing companies in India are forced to adapt or face the consequences of their actions.

Remote work is liberating for software engineers, or anyone with a digital skill, for that matter.

• It has allowed them to break free from the constraints of location.
• Given them the opportunity to earn a better salary.
• Also forced companies to adapt and treat their employees fairly.

Explore the Fruitful Opportunity

Many people are asking me how to find remote jobs. I advise looking for companies that are hiring globally and being open to the possibility of working for a company that is not located in your country.

You could use a freelancing platform like Upwork to find these companies. Or you could use job boards like We Work Remotely or FlexJobs.

Conclusion

The rise of remote work has brought about a curious karma for outsourcing companies in India. They are now facing the consequences of their actions and are struggling to hold on to their employees.

However, this shift to remote work has also created a massive opportunity for software engineers, and they are taking advantage of it.

Remote work is liberating, and it has the potential to create serious financial opportunities for those who are willing to explore the possibilities!

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