Dream Destinations and
This is the rst report in a series analyzing the work preferences of global talent in 2024.
Take Anne Granelli, for example. We rst interviewed her in
2014, when Anne, a biomedical researcher and native of
Sweden, was living and working in New Delhi with her
family aer a stint in Canada. “We really like the interna-
tional atmosphere,” she shared then. “It’s a great opportu-
nity to get dierent views and learn a lot.” We’ve continued
to follow her story. Now 53, she is living and working in
Dubai for a US-based medtech company. She recently
observed, “Life is too short not to explore all the options.”
The options to work abroad are plentiful. And they oer
wins for workers, including the 150,000 we surveyed for
this year’s report, and for destination countries, origin
countries, and employers:
• People Who Move Abroad for Work. Mobile job
seekers anticipate higher salaries and a better quality of
life, and their choice typically pays o: on average, they
report that their quality of life is 9% better aer their
move, according to the Migration Policy Institute.
• Destination Countries. Cross-border migration im-
proves productivity and lls workforce gaps, of which
there are many. Already, demand for talent outpaces
supply in the US and Germany by 2.74 million and
545,000, respectively, according to recent analysis by The
Stepstone Group. These countries could be harbingers of
the workplace future in many places around the world.
That’s a painfully expensive prospect: a BCG study of
30 countries found that above-average labor shortages
currently cost economies more than $1 trillion a year.
For these reasons, the International Labor Organization
and the World Bank identify cross-border migration as a
key priority in addressing talent shortages.
• Origin Countries. The notion that origin countries can
benet from the departure of talent might seem coun-
terintuitive, since, from one point of view, they are experi-
encing “brain drain.” But conversely, the Center for Global
Development reports “brain gain” related to the fact that
departures can promote the dissemination of knowledge
and technologies in origin countries and can help those
countries connect more rmly to the aggregate global
brain. Another benet: in 2023, according to the World
Bank, emigrants sent $669 billion back to friends and
family in their homelands, reducing poverty, increasing
consumption, and improving economic stability.
• Employers. An overwhelming 92% of the leaders of
global employers say that attracting and retaining talent
is among their top three priorities. A recent study by
The Stepstone Group in the US, the UK, and Germany
found that two-thirds of senior leaders see cross-border
migration as a way to solve demographic-driven labor
challenges. And employing foreign workers doesn’t just
ll capacity gaps: companies with greater global diver-
sity are more innovative and successful. They generate
higher prots and are 75% more likely to be world-class
innovators, as a recent BCG analysis showed.
Ten years ago, we launched the Decoding Global Talent series of reports,
excited to watch trends in the wide world of work. We never imagined
how powerfully and rapidly various global forces—the pandemic,
remote work, geopolitics, GenAI, and more—would disrupt the way
we work. Nevertheless, the turmoil of the past decade has had little
impact on the enduring appeal of talent mobility.
