Working from home is something many people are interested in. But is it a good idea to offer it to your tech teams? And do they even want it? We investigated.

1. Working from Home
Is this a benefit your
company should offer?
talentpoint.co

2. Introduction
As technology advances, with ‘anytime, anywhere’ services
and platforms for remote collaboration becoming more
popular, companies are increasingly offering opportunities
for their employees to work from home.
But how much of an impact does this really have on tech
professionals?
Do today's tech teams really want to work from home?
talentpoint.co

3. Over the course of 3 months, we surveyed our community of tech
professionals.
The answer, unsurprisingly, points to yes.
But not with as great a margin as you might expect.
Of the 2,166 tech professionals we posed this
question to, 67% expressed an interest in
working from home.
So, why do this 67% feel that working from home is important?
talentpoint.co

4. It offers a better
work/life balance
It eases commuting
troubles & costs
It allows for more
time with family
They can concentrate
better at home
talentpoint.co

5. " It’s great to have as an
option, and I love when it’s
offered. It’s not a
deal-breaker, but it would
definitely affect my
decision if I was trying to
decide between
companies. "
.NET Developer
" I actually work from
home two days a week in
my current role, and I’ve
found it helps immensely
with child care. It also
allows me to just
generally see my family
more, which is great. "
Java Developer
talentpoint.co

6. Of the 33% who said working from home either held no interest for them
or was actively something they avoided, these were the reasons provided:
It hampers teamwork
& collaboration
They can't focus
properly at home
It doesn't allow for learning
from senior team members
They prefer working in an
office environment
talentpoint.co

7. " I actually prefer
working from the
office, I’m more
productive that way!
But most companies
now do offer at least
one day working
from home. "
Front-End Developer
" I enjoy working
on-site in a
collaborative
environment, so
I wouldn’t enjoy
working from
home. "
Java Developer
talentpoint.co

8. On the whole, professionals in entry-level roles and
those holding senior management positions were
most averse to the idea of working at home. The
likelihood of tech professionals expressing an
interest in working from home was also heavily
reliant on the role in question, and the specific
interactions or tooling required in the role.
talentpoint.co

9. Entry-level professionals said that working in an office gave them
invaluable opportunities to learn from senior colleagues and was believed
to help them progress faster.
" I do like the idea and, in the future, I think
it will probably be more important to me.
But right now – for learning – I think it’s
best to be in the office. "
Mid-level UX/UI Designer
talentpoint.co

10. " I prefer to work in the office, certainly this early in my career,
because I enjoy working collaboratively with developers and
fellow DevOps engineers. It wouldn’t be possible to learn from the
Senior DevOps engineers if I was working remotely from home.
I have noticed, however, that there are a lot more opportunities
to work from home than ever before.
I do think that’s a positive change. "
Linux System Administrator
talentpoint.co

11. Many senior-level professionals, on the other hand, said that working
remotely was counterproductive, as it would make it impossible for
them to be effective in their roles.
Scrum Master
" I don't think the role of a Scrum Master can be done remotely – it
is inherently about communication with people and being ‘in the
thick of it’, which can't be done from home.
You'd lose out on a lot of team dynamics. "
talentpoint.co

12. " This isn't something I’d consider at my level, and it wasn't really
something that was done back when I was a coder.
I have seen more developers request this recently, which I think is
down to the climate and advancements in remote communication,
but it's not something I’d allow my teams to do.
I just don’t feel it’s a good substitute for face time. "
Chief Technology Officer
talentpoint.co

13. Informal flexible
working is champion
But one thing most respondents seemed
to agree on was this:
talentpoint.co

14. Many of the professionals who
expressed no desire to work
from home said that they
considered flexible work hours
of significant importance.
talentpoint.co

15. " I have no interest in working from home, but
I do feel that flexibility is key. "
Java Developer
This is because informal flexible working offers the best of both worlds:
the full in-office experience, with the ability to move work hours around
to allow for other appointments and a greater work/life balance.
talentpoint.co

16. So, what do we
recommend?
talentpoint.co

17. Take a trust-first
approach
1
talentpoint.co

18. Impress upon your managers the positive impact intermittent
working from home will have on employee morale and retention,
not to mention your employer brand.
It can also provide much needed relief away from an ‘always-
collaborating’ office environment for the introverts on your team,
enabling them to recharge and focus.
talentpoint.co

19. Facilitate the right
conditions
2
talentpoint.co

20. Cloud-based working is now the norm, not the exception,
allowing visibility and communication regardless of an employee’s
physical working location. Many tech employees already use chat,
screen sharing, and collaborative Cloud-based project
management tools such as Jira, Trello, Slack and Microsoft Teams.
By reviewing the tools already being used, you may find there
are only small additions needed to enable home working.
talentpoint.co

21. Agree on explicit parameters
and expectations
3
talentpoint.co

22. Ascertain minimum in-office staffing levels for each team, or
perhaps a maximum number of days per week you’re happy to
allow staff to work at home.
By requiring employees to inform stakeholders in advance, or
check-in with the team via video first-thing, or expecting them to
respond to all communications within a specific time-frame, you’ll
create transparent lines of communication.
talentpoint.co

23. Hold everyone
accountable
4
talentpoint.co

24. It’s essential that both management and the team
remaining in the office feel no difference between when a
colleague is ‘physically’ present in the office and when
they’re working at home.
Make it clear that, where expectations aren’t met, the
privilege may be removed.
talentpoint.co

25. " At Talent Point, we run a quarterly opt-in work from home
scheme, conditional upon a ‘two-strike’ rule (with each strike
when the work from home communication policy isn’t
followed). We’ve found that staff often communicate more
when working from home to ensure they retain the privilege!
Trusting employees to work from home not only
has the scope to improve employee wellness,
but frequently increases productivity by
reducing the inherent ‘can I just grab you for
five minutes..?’ distractions of the office. "
Abbie Pullman,
Head of Strategy & Content at Talent Point
talentpoint.co

26. Aside from remote/flexi-working, other benefits that retain top talent are:
Skills growth & learning
opportunities
Competitive remuneration
& compensation
Healthcare & other
lifestyle perks
A training budget
Clear career paths
Conferences
Workshops
Competitive salaries
Bonus structures
Commuting budgets
Shares/stock options
Health insurance
Dental plans
Gym memberships
Bicycle to work schemes
talentpoint.co

27. For more information on benefits
initiatives and their impact on
staff retention,
or for specialised tips about the
tech employment market,
please get in touch!
talentpoint.co

28. At Talent Point, we help organisations amplify their ability to
attract, engage and retain technology teams by putting planning,
data and career growth at the heart of their hiring.
As part of our ongoing commitment to keeping our finger on the
pulse of London's tech industry so as to better serve our
customers, we have released a number of the data reports and
analyses prepared by our research team.
If you think what we do could help you, we'd love to talk to you.
Otherwise, we hope you gained tangible, actionable insights to take
with you on your journey to create winning tech teams.
London
020 3011 1501
info@talentpoint.co
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15 Bermondsey Square
London
SE1 3UN