South Africans show a high preference for fully remote work – study

A recent study called ‘Decoding Global Ways of Working’ has found a strong preference among South Africans for fully remote work, compared to the global average.

The study was conducted by Boston Consulting Group (BCG) and The Network, along with CareerJunction as the local partner.

According to the study, 44% of South Africans surveyed said they would want to work fully remotely. However, the global average was only 24% of respondents.

Meanwhile, 53% of South African respondents said that they would want to work from home at least occasionally.

But only 4% said that they would want to work in the office or on-site fully after the pandemic.

“The pandemic has significantly changed how people think about their work and mobility preferences, because many had to transition to remote work basically overnight,” Rudi van Blerk, Principal and Recruiting Director at Boston Consulting Group in Johannesburg, said in a statement.

Which South Africans show a preference for remote work?

A total of 1 421 people in South Africa were interviewed for the study. Globally, 209 000 participants took part.

While this doesn’t provide enough data to generalise for the entire population, it is able to identify a few trends.

Firstly, those with digital and office jobs showed the strongest preference for workplace flexibility.

“Marketing & Communication leads the charge, with 62.5 percent saying they would move to a fully remote mode of working,” the study found.

But even those who handle physical goods or make contact with clients are looking for more flexible work setups.

However, more flexibility is not only desired in terms of the location of work, but also the hours.

In the study, 61% of South African respondents said they would like flexibility in defining their working hours. Unlike remote work, this desire extends across industries and job types.

“The majority of workers in all job roles also show a strong desire for this flexibility to extend beyond the pandemic,” the study found.

Feature image: XPS on Unsplash

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