Warning to South African software developers working for foreign firms

Software development firms have said they are aware of numerous instances of South African programmers finding it difficult to adjust to working remotely for foreign companies.

When enquiring about the South African software development job market, development firms Entelect and Codehesion told MyBroadband that taking these work opportunities can often come with many risks and be very demanding.

“We’ve interviewed several candidates working in remote international setups, and while it’s an option for some, burnout seems to be a recurring theme,” Codehesion CEO Hector Beyers told MyBroadband.

“The pressures can often be unreasonable due to a lack of human connection in these employer-employee relationships.”

Therefore, Beyers said many developers return to the South African job market.

Software development and technology solutions firm Entelect echoed Beyers’ view, adding that these work situations can also pose employee risks.

“We have seen a few people take this route, only to find that their international (mostly US-based) startups’ funding dried up, leading them to re-enter the South African market,” Entelect said.

“Many developers are not keen on this way of working due to the isolation and potential risks involved.”

However, both companies noted that while these opportunities may appeal to some South African developers, this is an overstated trend and not something local firms should be concerned about.

Entelect said that it has only seen a handful of cases over the past few years where developers have remotely worked for foreign firms and do not believe this could be responsible for some form of brain drain.

It is more common to find South African developers looking to relocate to foreign countries, such as the Netherlands, according to Beyers.

“The South African developer market remains an incredible pool of talent,” Beyers said.

“While some devs explore international opportunities, local companies continue to have access to highly skilled professionals who value strong company culture, career growth, and work-life balance.”

On the other hand, Entelect says, “There has been a shortage of development talent for as long as we can remember.”

Emphasis placed on in-person office time

While remote work remains an important hiring consideration in the software development space, both firms noted a lack of human connection as a reason for developers returning to the local market.

Therefore, Codehesion and Entelect said they have adopted hybrid working policies, a combination of in-office and remote working.

“Our hybrid approach offers a great balance: in-office days allow us to build on our team’s synergy, fostering quick feedback loops and collaboration essential for complex projects,” Beyers said.

“Remote days provide the space for deep, uninterrupted focus, allowing our team to tackle challenging development phases with clarity.”

Beyers believes that the hybrid model’s flexibility is particularly beneficial because of this balance.

Similarly, Entelect told MyBroadband that it has not officially adopted a specific working policy. However, it supports all three types of working: remote, hybrid, and full-time.

Employees can choose one of these policies based on the requirements of their role.

“Some teams have returned to the office. This was because they needed higher bandwidth communication between team members, as their roles require more collaboration,” Entelect said.

“Having the flexibility to align a team’s specific requirements always ensures that we are doing the best thing for the job at hand.”

During the Covid-19 pandemic, most companies were forced to close their office doors and adopt a remote work policy where employees had to work from home.

A PageGroup survey found that roughly 63% of South African-based professionals said their productivity increased while working from home, compared to 31% who said their productivity remained the same.

South Africans also didn’t seem to be low on motivation. Fifty per cent said they felt even more motivated, while 41% said nothing had changed.

This created a sense of optimism for remote working policies, resulting in many employers adopting a hybrid working policy where employees could work from home but had to be in the office for a certain number of days every week.