South Africans Want to Stay Working Remotely After The Pandemic

South Africa Remote Work

The UK and the Netherlands aren’t the only countries with the highest number of remote positions. In South Africa, remote work increased up to 87% after the 2020 pandemic. According to the survey Decoding Global Ways Ways of Working, South Africans want to stay remote even after the pandemic.

In March 2021, Boston Consulting Group (BCG), The Network, and local partner Career Junior interviewed over 209,000 global participants. In South Africa, 44% of respondents would go for a full-remote position while the global average was only 24%. Additionally, 53% of South African employees want to work from home occasionally; and only 4% hope to go back to the office after the pandemic.

The survey found how developed countries – like the Netherlands, Luxembourg, France, Denmark, or Finland – record a higher number of remote workers and just a few people would be okay with going back to the office.

In countries like China, employees would rather go back to a physical workplace than work remotely. On the flip side, the enthusiasm for remote work blew up in developing countries like the Philippines and South Africa. Further, African respondents are the most interested in remote work with a foreign employer.  

Why Remote Work?

While companies in highly developed countries invest in office spaces and infrastructures, people living in developing countries prefer to work from home to avoid traffic and bad infrastructure to spend more time with their family. Similarly, with 35% of respondents, Americans are near the top of all nationalities happy to work from home permanently. Remote work cuts living costs in big cities and saves people from commute every day.

Moreover, the reason why people prefer remote work to traditional settings mainly depends on location and flexibility. Globally, only 36% of people would like a traditional 9-5 work schedule. Over 44% of employees would choose a combination of a fixed and flexible schedule. Finally, 20% of participants would like to have complete flexibility on their schedule.

The survey highlights more positions transitioning into remote settings, with Marketing & Communication leading the way (62.5%). Still, the preference for flexibility and remote positions usually belongs to the tech and IT fields. In South Africa, the desire for more flexibility (61%) is equal in different fields and job types. 

While the benefits of remote work are convincing every day more people, South Africans are ready to lead the way! 

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