A wave of remote work began among software engineers in the spring of 2020. Software engineers transitioned to working from home relatively smoothly. It is estimated that around 20% of people already work remotely. A rollback of work schedules took place in the summer of 2022.
There is no doubt that the pandemic was an unforgettable experience. That does not mean remote work will disappear forever. We should keep engineering teams working remotely for these reasons:
- An increase of 10x to 100x in the number of candidates
Recruiting is still a difficult task. The advantage of working remotely is that you get to work with a wider pool of talent from around the world. The most talented software developers can be hired anywhere in the world due to the lack of geographical restrictions.
You have a competitive advantage if you offer a remote role since 75% of developers prefer to work remotely at least three times per week. Make sure all team members overlap their workdays for at least four hours if time zones are a concern.
- Office space doesn’t have to be expensive
Offices with a lot of features are expensive. Despite the pandemic, commercial real estate costs continue to rise in major cities like San Francisco and New York. As a result, CEOs with building investments might push for the return of the office.
However, working from home can lower your startup’s costs, allowing you to reinvest these savings into your company. Provide your development team with a stipend to cover the costs of home office equipment instead of paying rent, utilities, maintenance, and other services every month.
- Office noise and distractions are reduced.
No one can deny the fact that office life is distracting. For software engineering teams, meetings, calendar invites, and urgent requests can interrupt their flow.
You can minimize distractions for your remote team when they work from home. Getting into the zone is easy for a senior software engineer. Junior developers can also take breaks from their desks.
- A higher level of productivity
Some people find that proximity to other people boosts their productivity and creativity. Most developers, however, report the opposite.
Developers report getting more meaningful work done at home, compared to 32% who are more productive at work. Because software development is mostly solitary work, you won’t find much collaboration needed when testing code, collecting data, and writing code.
Engineering teams can quickly sync up via video call or chat when teamwork opportunities arise.
- Inclusion and diversity
A remote work environment makes it easier for employees to find the right balance between work and personal life.
Despite having a full-time job, working parents can still spend time with their children. Adapting the work environment for engineers with disabilities is possible. Sitting in a car is not necessary for people who don’t commute.
It is beneficial for businesses to have a diverse workforce. There are benefits to both parties.
Final words
Having a distributed team has many benefits. You can promote productivity and morale by providing software developers with the option to work from home. Additionally, it attracts top talent from around the world.
