Working remotely as a developers before and after Covid-19

JUNE 2020 SURVEY
WORKING
REMOTELY
BEFORE AND
AFTER
COVID-19
AROUND THE WORLD

With the Covid-19 health crisis came profound changes in
terms of remote work and organizational patterns.
How can we expect these changes to aﬀect our work life
long-term? We decided to dig further into developers’
teleworking aspirations.
In June 2020, over 2,000 developers from 94 countries
across the globe, shared with us their expectations and
experience when it comes to working remotely.
2

We ﬁrst divided the sample of 1940
respondents into employees/freelancers.
Employees accounted for 86.81% of the
total sample, compared to 12.98%
independent freelancers.
DISTINCTION EMPLOYEES/
FREELANCE DEVELOPERS
3
Are you currently working for a company or as a
freelancer developer?

In Spring 2020, as a result of the Covid-19 crisis, the vast majority of developers started to work
from home.
Consequently, companies started to recognize the advantages of home working. But what about
before the crisis? Had companies already started to see the attraction?
It would seem that employers were somewhat divided. 31.7% of developers surveyed told us
that they were already able to remote work prior to Covid-19: 17.2% on a full-time basis and
14.5% on a weekly basis.
However, 35.7% of developers worked in companies reluctant to make teleworking an
integral part of their organization, only allowing for occasional remote days. What’s more,
32.7% of developers told us that their company had made no room at all for remote working prior
to the Covid-19 health crisis.
4
WHERE WERE WE BEFORE THE VIRUS
IN TERMS OF REMOTE WORK?

WHERE WERE WE BEFORE THE VIRUS
5
Before the Covid-19 crisis, did your company allow remote
working?
Yes, my company allowed
full-time remote work
Yes, several days a week
A little, a few days a month
No, remote work was
infrequent or not possible

Now that the virus has started to retreat in some parts of
the world, companies are looking to draft a new “normal”
for their work organization.
We found that the vast majority of employers are sticking
with remote work for the time being. In fact, 73.6% of
developers told us that they’re currently working from
home, as a result of the Covid-19 crisis.
On the other hand, 15.4% say they’ve gone back to the
oﬃce.
Although it may be too early to determine whether or not
companies are making remote working part of their new,
long-term, “normal”, it’s safe to say they it’s a hot topic for
discussion.
WHERE ARE WE NOW
6
Are you currently working remotely?
Yes, as a result
of the
Covid-19 crisis
Yes, but my
position was
already fully
remote
No, I’ve gone
back to the
oﬃce half-time
or full-time

WHAT DO DEVELOPERS
HAVE TO SAY ABOUT IT?
7
On a scale from 1 to 10, do you enjoy working remotely?
What do developers think about this turn of
events?
We wanted to ﬁnd out if developers
welcomed this change, and enjoyed working
remotely. Well, do you know what? They do!
We asked our panel of coders how much they
enjoyed working remotely, on a scale of 0 to
10. They gave an average score of 8.2/10.

So, why are developers keen to work
remotely?
Reason number one: less time spent
travelling to and from the office.
45.7% of developers consider that “Less
commute time” is the main benefit of
remote work. Up next, “A better balance
between private life and work” (27.5% of
respondents).
Other answers include the fact that there
are less distractions and interruptions, and
the fact that you can work from anywhere
in the world.
THE PROS OF WORKING
REMOTELY
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What do you feel is the main benefit of working remotely?
A better balance
between private life
and work
More autonomy in
my work
organization
A nicer work
environment
Less commute time
Other

Still, working remotely also has its drawbacks.
We asked developers what bothered them most. They told us that the main downfall of
remote working was “Remote communication”. Indeed, even with the best tools and
intentions, in-person communication is tricky to reproduce from a distance.
Interestingly, although 27.5% of respondents cited “A better balance between private life
and work” as one of the main advantages of remote working, 28.6% of developers consider
that “An erosion of the balance between private life and work” is a clear pain point when it
comes to teleworking.
Evidently, a number of things contribute to a work from home experience: mindset, home
environment, home relationships, family status, work processes and nature…
9
THE CONS OF WORKING
REMOTELY

10
THE CONS OF WORKING
REMOTELY
On the other hand, what is the main drawback?
The technology and tools used in
my company aren't a good ﬁt for
remote work
Remote communication
Lack of trust between employees
and managers
An erosion of the balance
between private life and work
Other

IS REMOTE WORKING HERE TO STAY?
Are developers eager to continue working from
home? Yes they are!
If given the opportunity, 88.8% of developers say
they’d consider working remotely more often.
However, some developers are looking forward to
getting back to their oﬃce or collective work space.
The main reason cited was face-to-face social
interaction.
One developer said,
“Working and interacting with people in a physical
space allows for better understanding of personalities
and collaborative approaches that work and don’t
seem arbitrary and/or uninformed”.
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After your experience of working from home during the
Covid-19 crisis, would you consider working remotely
more often?

The 2,000 developers who took part
in our survey reside in 94 countries
around the world.
France accounts for 40% of the
sample, followed by the United
States (10.10%), Germany (4.48%),
the United Kingdom (3.45%), and
Russia (2.94%).
2000 DEVELOPERS
IN 94 COUNTRIES
Geography of respondents
(Percentage of developers per country)
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The fact that our teams switched to a new, 100% remote, work setup in spring 2020 raised a number
of questions in terms of communication, organization, productivity, etc.
Just like everybody else, we tested and we learned.
Now that we’re progressively returning to the office, a new set of questions arises: what lies ahead
for work, recruitment, collaboration, etc. Is “remote” the future of work? What will the impact be on
our teams?
In this survey, over 2000 developers shared their hopes and expectations for remote working.
Clearly, programmers would like to continue to work remotely (either part-time or full-time).
However, they also crave social interaction and, in some cases, worry about the effect remote work
might have on their personal equilibrium.
Our recommendation? Talk to your tech teams. Gather feedback and (if possible) get to know each
developer’s home situation. Only then will you be able to draft a remote work policy that benefits
your teams and, in fine, your company.
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CONCLUSION

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Founded in 2014 by Frédéric Desmoulins, Nicolas Antoniazzi and Aude Barral,
CodinGame is a French start-up specializing in tech recruitment.
On the CodinGame.com platform, more than 2 million code fans worldwide hone
their programming skills for free, through games and programming challenges.
Companies looking to hire and retain talented developers (Bank of America,
Nintendo, ebay, Adobe, Warner Bros., etc.) turn to CodinGame to optimize their
recruitment process, uncover hidden gems, and strengthen their employer
brand.
Everybody wins: developers land their dream jobs and businesses build strong,
sustainable technical teams.

CONTACT THE CODINGAME TEAM
contact@codingame.com
+33 9 54 39 85 49
@CodinGame
linkedin.com/company/codingame/
facebook.com/CodinGame/
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Working remotely as a developers before and after Covid-19

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