Our homes used to be sacred spaces where we raised families, laughed, cried, relaxed – the places where we solely focused on our personal lives. Now, our professional and personal lives have collided. Our homes have had to adapt to the changes and challenges of remote work, merging into the spaces where we both run our personal lives and grow our professional careers. From launching products to devising business strategies, our homes are now also the places where we nurture and build our careers.

 

A lot of people are quite happy with that. In fact, many are now demanding, even assuming, flexible working options will be commonplace post-pandemic; no ifs, no buts. Flexible work is no longer a perk reserved for the lucky few, it’s a staple of today’s modern workforce, and should be accessible to everyone, pandemic or no pandemic.

 

So, it’s clear that remote working in tech is here to stay, in some form. But does that really mean tech professionals will never need to step foot in an office again?

 

Big tech has made some big, bold claims about remote work in the future

With such widespread benefits, you’d be forgiven for thinking that every organisation is going to move in the same direction and close their offices. Multinational organisations, in particular, have made some bold claims about how and where they plan to allow their staff to work going forward – with some of the loudest voices coming from big tech. That’s no surprise. The industry was a remote working pioneer long before the pandemic hit and, thanks to lockdowns around the world, it embraced this trend wholeheartedly. Now, many tech companies are continuing to make ambitious pledges about the future of flexible working at their organisations. Twitter was one of the first to announce staff could work from home ‘forever’. Facebook soon followed suit, and other tech giants like Dropbox, Infosys, Salesforce, Shopify, Slack, and Spotify also prioritised remote working initiatives. But that doesn’t necessarily mean that 100 per cent remote work is the right move for your business. Some organisations are not set up to work remotely. Others want their staff back in the office. And not everyone wants to work from home in the first place. This is where a hybrid approach could help.

Is hybrid working more realistic for the tech industry, and for tech professionals?

Microsoft have embraced a hybrid working set up – their employees can combine their home and office work schedules. For many organisations, hybrid may be the preferred option. In fact, according to a Gartner survey, 82 per cent of leaders plan to allow staff to work remotely some of the time, not all of the time. But is this welcome news for tech professionals?

• Two-thirds (63 per cent) of tech professionals expect to continue working remotely in some form or another; the same proportion said they expected to have more opportunities to work flexibly in future, compared to less than half of professionals across all sectors.
• 43 per cent of tech workers say they think the ideal hybrid model is three days of working from home and two days in the office.
• Six out of ten workers are willing to take a pay cut if they’re able to continue working from home, post-pandemic.

So, it’s clear that flexibility is key for today’s tech workers, but are permanent remote or hybrid work arrangements a realistic option for every tech role? After all, not everyone has the luxury of being able to work from the comfort of their own sofa. From hardware engineers to IT technicians and QA testers, one-quarter of computer-based jobs just can’t be done remotely, according to McKinsey. In this case, it’s important to remember that remote or hybrid work options aren’t always feasible for every tech worker, and a more personalised approach should be taken.

What benefits do techies think flexible work brings?

• Improved company culture: More than half of tech professionals we surveyed (58 per cent) say that the increase in remote work due to the pandemic has either had no negative impact on their company culture whatsoever, or it has even made it better. And, according to HR Locker, 37 per cent of organisations report an improvement in organisational culture (since working from home due to the pandemic).
• Better collaboration: 39 per cent of tech professionals prefer collaborating with colleagues remotely, rather than in the office.
• Increased creativity: Over half (51 per cent) of tech professionals think they are more creative when working remotely, versus only 24 per cent who are more creative in the office.
• More family time: Almost a third of tech professionals we surveyed (32 per cent) said that for them, the single best thing about hybrid working is the fact it provides them with more time to spend with their families. While 24 per cent state that the money they save on their commute beats all other benefits, for them.

So, can you close your offices, forever?

Steve Jobs, for one, was a famous opponent of remote work, believing those accidental meet-ups and unplanned chats help Apple employees connect and come up with great ideas. Even those tech companies that are pro-remote still understand the value of human contact. For example, Automattic, an all-remote and global tech company, holds an annual retreat for staff to meet up and work on group projects. And at GitLab, remote staff are encouraged to schedule ‘virtual coffee breaks’. If the recent pandemic has taught us anything, it’s the value of seeing people and making human connections. And while remote work is now a core facet of today’s tech workforces – it’s important to provide people with the opportunity to connect and meet up. Hybrid is clearly the way forward to strike the right balance, helping people escape their bedrooms, kitchen tables, and home offices – as and when they want to. If anything, while remote working is here to stay, flexibility is the future for today’s (and tomorrow’s) tech workers. In the next three blogs, we dive into the impact of remote and hybrid work on everything, from hiring, onboarding and retention processes to diversity and inclusion in tech and career development. Author

James Milligan
Global Head of Technology at Hays

James Milligan is the Global Head of Technology at Hays, having joined in 2000. In his role, he is responsible for the strategic development of Hays' technology businesses globally.