Webafrica is pulling the plug on its physical offices, with its more than 500 employees to work completely remotely, making it one of the biggest companies in South Africa to do this.

The Internet service provider has already shut its Cape Town head office, with the Johannesburg office to follow by February 2023, it said in a statement on Thursday.

Webafrica, which employs 510 people nationwide, decided to go fully remote after noticing that most staff members preferred not to come into the office, even when the offices were open during the Covid-19 lockdowns.

“Remote working has exceeded our expectations in terms of employee productivity and the savings our staff gain by not travelling to work,” said CEO Sean Nourse in the statement.

Employee productivity has gone up by 20% since going remote and employee happiness, which it said it measures on a quarterly basis, is at an all-time high.

The company provides staff members with the same Internet connectivity as its customers.

Nourse said the decision to close its offices is allowing Webafrica to expand its recruitment efforts. The company will focus on hiring staff in communities where its customers live. The company has hired almost 250 new employees since the start of the lockdown in 2020. – © 2022 NewsCentral Media