Welcome to The People Insider — a weekly brief for anyone who employs people in South Africa.

Every Wednesday: one headline, one tool, one leadership story, one stat and one question. Under five minutes. No fluff. Let's get into it.

For years, the story of South African talent was that the best people leave and they don't come back. That story is changing…

The TEFL Academy's Reverse Emigration Among South Africans report, released last week, surveyed 173 South Africans who lived abroad and either returned or are planning to. The headline finding: Recruitment firms have recorded a 70% increase in enquiries from South Africans abroad exploring return migration — mostly from the UK, Australia and Canada.

Analysts are calling it brain circulation; skills exported, refined overseas and now flowing back.

Why now?

Three things changed at once. First, a Constitutional Court ruling in May 2025 removed a long-standing barrier that stripped South Africans of their citizenship when they naturalised abroad. The Department of Home Affairs has since launched a digital portal for former citizens to reclaim their status remotely.

Second, remote work broke the trade-off. South African professionals can now earn in pounds, euros or dollars while spending in rands, accessing the lifestyle without sacrificing their international career. ("Geographic arbitrage," if you will.)

Third (and most importantly), 77% of respondents said what they missed most while living abroad was time with family and friends back home.

What they're bringing back

This isn't sentimental. The returnees are coming back with something tangible. Respondents rated living abroad as a major boost to their confidence, adaptability and a global perspective – now a professional asset in South Africa.

The gap employers need to close

Here's the catch: Returnees rated the utilisation of their international skills locally at just 3.19 out of 5. That's a warning. These are globally experienced professionals choosing to come home, and many feel their skills aren't being fully used.

For SA employers sitting on hard-to-fill roles, this is a talent pipeline hiding in plain sight. But only if you're set up to attract them.

A new study by The Harris Poll for INTOO, conducted in February 2026, found that 74% of employees say innovation is now formally expected of them. But 41% are simultaneously afraid that a single mistake could cost them their job. So they hold back.

INTOO calls it the "innovation perception gap". And, in South Africa, where unemployment sits at 31.4% and PwC SA research shows workers are under mounting economic strain, the fear is even more acute. The cost of a mistake here isn't just your reputation; it's potentially your family's next meal.

The question worth sitting with: Is it possible to create a space at work where people feel free to be brave and innovate, without the fear of reprimand for mistakes?

R1,730

is the potential monthly drop in take-home pay for a South African employee on a family comprehensive medical aid plan, despite the budget's "tax relief". Analysis by Tax Consulting SA shows the 3.4% bracket adjustment has been completely wiped out by medical aid increases of 7–8% and April's fuel price hike. What looks like relief on paper is a net loss in reality.

If your people are quietly looking elsewhere for as little as R1,000 more in net pay, this is why.

Source: Tax Consulting South Africa / EWN

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