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How did the COVID-19 pandemic and remote work impact the developer community? Six Feet Up’s CEO and co-founder, Gabrielle Hendryx-Parker, discussed the opportunities and challenges developers face when working from home (WFH) in two TechRepublic articles by senior writer, Veronica Combs: 

• “One year later: A look at how COVID has impacted the developer community” and
• “In the office or WFH: What is better for developers?”

Six Feet Up is a fully remote company with employees in 15 time zones — from California to Indiana, Florida and South Africa. Prior to the pandemic, Six Feet Up was 50% remote, and the company has supported employees working from home for nearly a decade. However, COVID-19 created a unique set of challenges for remote workers including developer burnout due to lopsided work/life balance, Zoom fatigue and overall isolation. 

To combat burnout, Six Feet Up relied on its human-friendly work environment where employees work hourly and have the flexibility to act as educators and caretakers when schools are closed and/or family members are ill.

“The benefits of remote work appeared once the initial stress of the transition was over,” said Gabrielle in this TechRepublic article. “Life without a commute has allowed our team to get more sleep and exercise more, and many people have set up a workstation outside when the weather permitted it, and enjoyed the health benefits that come from getting more sunlight and fresh air.”

The pandemic also brought the importance of creating a highly collaborative work environment in a virtual world to the forefront.  

“The developer community thrives on collaboration,” said Gabrielle. “Software is getting so sophisticated that not one single developer can do everything on their own.” 

Six Feet Up invests in online tools and high-quality audio and visual (A/V) setups for its employees. Additionally, the company’s strong Slack culture allows employees to collaborate and feel connected without always being on camera.

“The pandemic has made internal communication critical,” said Gabrielle in this TechRepublic article. "Having to deal with isolation made it all the more obvious that soft skills are actually essential in development to keep high performing teams going.” 

Hiring During a Pandemic

According to Gabrielle, hiring has become somewhat easier thanks to a truly global job market. 

“One disadvantage is that such a large pool puts stress on compensation packages as smaller developer teams compete in a global marketplace, creating discrepancies based on company size, reputation and location,” said Gabrielle in this TechRepublic article. "Over time, I expect compensation differences to level out, but for now, it's common to see candidates asking for up to 3 times what you are expecting to pay for a technical position.”

Become a Sixie

Six Feet Up thrived during the pandemic, and the software company continues to grow as a global Python and cloud expert consulting company that helps organizations build apps faster, innovate with AI, simplify Big Data and leverage Cloud technology.

We’re looking for new Sixies to join our team, and we welcome applicants from all over the world. No matter where you are — if you're passionate for technology and you enjoy solving complex problems — we have a place for you.