Back to the office for software developers

While remote work remains an important hiring consideration in the software development space, some firms have emphasised the need for employees to spend some time in the office.

During the Covid-19 pandemic, most companies were forced to close their office doors and adopt a remote work policy where employees had to work from home.

A PageGroup survey found that roughly 63% of South African-based professionals said their productivity increased while working from home, compared to 31% who said their productivity remained the same.

South Africans also didn’t seem to be low on motivation. Fifty per cent said they felt even more motivated, while 41% said nothing had changed.

This created a sense of optimism for remote working policies, resulting in many employers adopting a hybrid working policy where employees could work from home but had to be in the office for a certain number of days every week.

Hybrid working policies were particularly prevalent in industries where client-facing roles were typical.

However, since the pandemic, even industries that do not require employees to be in the office at all times have opted for the best of both worlds.

Codehesion CEO Hector Beyers told MyBroadband that the company has adopted a hybrid model where employees work in-office thrice weekly and remotely for the remaining days.

He says that as a full software lifecycle consultancy, there are benefits to both in-office and remote working.

“Our hybrid approach offers a great balance: in-office days allow us to build on our team’s synergy, fostering quick feedback loops and collaboration essential for complex projects,” Beyers said.

“Remote days provide the space for deep, uninterrupted focus, allowing our team to tackle challenging development phases with clarity.”

Beyers believes that the flexibility the hybrid model creates is particularly beneficial because of this balance.

Similarly, software development and technology solutions firm Entelect told MyBroadband that it has not officially adopted a specific working policy. However, it supports all three types of working: remote, hybrid, and full-time.

Employees can choose one of these policies based on the requirements of their role.

“Some teams have returned to the office. This was because they needed higher bandwidth communication between team members, as their roles require more collaboration,” Entelect said.

“Having the flexibility to align a team’s specific requirements always ensures that we are doing the best thing for the job at hand.”

South Africa’s major telcos are following a similar trend by slowly asking employees to return to the office, especially those in tech and client-facing roles.

Telkom told MyBroadband that it adopted a hybrid work policy in September 2022, allowing employees to work at home on Monday and Friday and in the office from Tuesday to Thursday.

However, this does not apply to employees in the company’s technical field or client-facing roles who must be in the office full-time.

MTN has a similar work policy, which, when implemented during Covid-19, allowed employees to work from home except for one day when they had to be in the office.

However, the company said it changed this at the beginning of the year, requiring employees to come into the office for one, three, or four days a week, depending on the level of engagement needed for their role.

On the other hand, Cell C employs what it calls a flexible working guideline, which it recently introduced to accommodate diverse employee needs, promote inclusivity, and a healthy work-life balance.

The mobile operator told MyBroadband that, rather than having an official hybrid working policy, it allows its employees to request flexitime, remote work, or time off for a limited period.

Flexitime allows employees to adjust their work schedules to better accommodate personal commitments, and time off is the ability to limit periods off to address personal needs.

Cell C said it is also busy piloting an unlimited leave benefit for its executives, which, if successful, will be extended to the rest of its employees.

The mobile operator said this model tends to its employees’ needs for flexibility without compromising their performance.