Remote devs are working longer hours, but the flexibility is worth it

Let's explore whether remote developers work fewer hours than their office-based counterparts, and how offering remote can supercharge your hiring efforts.

South African developers are seeing a slow RTO

In the latest Hiring Report , we’ve found that more developers are working outside of fully remote setups . In fact, over the past 12 months, 17% of devs have lost their fully remote status .

At the same time, over half of developers said they would leave a role if forced to RTO . Developers aren’t happy about this shift and there’s a clear disconnect between what they want and what their companies are doing .

So what’s behind this shift back to the office? One reason often given for the RTO is that remote work leads to people working less than they would in the office.

This made us ask: Are remote devs working fewer hours than their in-office counterparts?

The majority of devs work more hours than they’re required to

Across the board, developers are working more hours than they’re contractually required to:

Remote devs are no exception to this trend and also work more hours than they’re required to:

So, why is remote popular if they’re not working fewer hours than they would in an office? The data suggests that long hours aren’t the problem. Instead, it’s a lack of flexibility and commuting.

Flexibility makes the longer hours worth it and your company more desirable

Developers are clear on their preference for remote work and its benefits. According to data from our latest Developer Retention and Hiring Report , the top benefits of a remote set-up are cost savings from not having to commute and more flexibility over how and when they work:

Developers say they’re happier in remote set-ups which can help you supercharge your hiring efforts.

Companies offering remote work attract the best tech talent by offering what devs value most in job offers. And, the importance of remote opportunities has only grown. Offering remote work can also expand your talent pool and the quality of developers you can hire:

For more insights to help you level up your dev hiring, get the 2024 data report now .