India among world’s worst countries to work remotely: Report

New Delhi: India ranks 64th among the 108 countries for remote work — 15 places lower compared to last year — primarily because of its poor digital and physical infrastructure and social safety, a report showed on Wednesday.

The Global Remote Work Index (GRWI) by cybersecurity company NordLayer revealed the best and worst countries to work remotely in terms of four different criteria: cyber safety, economic safety, digital and physical infrastructure and social safety.

“Even though some of the big tech companies recently brought their employees back to the office or introduced a hybrid work model, remote work is here to stay. It’s not just a trend — it is a fundamental shift in how we approach productivity and work-life balance,” said Donatas Tamelis, managing director at NordLayer.

India’s low position is due to poor results in all four dimensions, primarily because of its digital and physical infrastructure (77) and social safety (74).

“Regarding digital and physical infrastructure, India’s e-infrastructure is among the world’s worst, taking 95th place,” the report mentioned.

The Internet connection in India is neither affordable (78th) nor good quality (70th). Regarding social safety, India seems to be one of the isolating countries globally, with a low personal rights index (88) and poor inclusiveness environment (65).

In terms of cyber and economic safety, India performs mediocre (56 and 55 respectively).

India is one of the cheapest destinations with the third lowest cost of living. However, healthcare (93) might not be appealing for travellers. The country has an alright cyber infrastructure (13) and response capacity (19).