HONOLULU – Software engineer Raymond Berger begins his work day at 5 a.m., before the sun comes up over Hawaii.Rising early is necessary because the company he works for is in New York City, five hours ahead of Maui, where he is renting a home with a backyard that's near the beach.“It’s a little hard with the time zone difference,” he said. “But generally I have a much better quality of life.”The pandemic is giving many workers the freedom to do their jobs from anywhere.
Now that Hawaii's economy is reeling from dramatically fewer tourists, a group of state officials and community leaders wants more people like Berger to help provide an alternative to relying on short-term visitors.