Digital Nomadism: A Psychological Pathway to Early Retirement Planning

Abstract: Early retirement has conventionally been treated as a financially-determined exit from paid work, yet digital nomadism has primarily been considered as work or mobility-based lifestyles. These literatures have developed concurrently, rarely coming together in a set of theories. This paper proposes to fill this gap by conceptualizing digital nomadism as a psychological reorientation of early retirement-one that does not replace working nor replaces a leisure-centered occupation. Based on Self-Determination Theory, Continuity Theory, and Life-Course Theory, the research contends that factors associated with premature retirement-burnout, autonomy deprivation, and work identity dissatisfaction-are often psychological antecedents long before financial readiness and induce retirement-like behaviors long before formal retirement planning begins. Digital nomadism is seen as a strategic work redesign in which individuals gradually gain autonomy to pursue identity continuity through which they make sense, while remaining economically active. Through repositioning retirement planning as an ongoing mental journey instead of a single dollar purchase, the paper presents an integrative view that conceptualizes digital nomadism as a link between traditional work and hybrid or staged retirement options. In this study, retirement theory, work psychology, and future-of-work scholarship are addressed as the new way of thinking about retirement as a state that can be attained through intentional career planning.

Keywords: Digital Nomadism, Early Retirement Planning, Psychological Pathways, Career Redesign, Life-Course Theory, Identity Continuity