At Bitfount we encourage flexible working. This applies to the hours you work in the day and we do not prescribe set times. All we ask is that you attend the meetings you have been invited to.

We also have a Hybrid working policy which means we have a mixture of working from home and being in the office certain days of the week.

Hybrid Working Policy

The below describes the Bitfount Leadership Team’s current thinking on the best approach to office working. Our overall aim in defining the work environment is to help the team achieve both success and an enjoyable work culture. We considered Bitfount’s current needs, the office search survey conducted in October 2021 and various research evidence in developing the policy (references below).

There are a few common approaches to deciding where people should work:

• Office: Everyone has to come into an office
• Remote: Everyone is remote
• Hybrid: Everyone comes into the office at least a certain amount
• Smart: People choose for themselves what makes sense, taking into account both the business’ needs and their own personal situation

Bitfount’s Needs

As Bitfount is at a relatively early stage of its development compared to a more established company we believe we will benefit most from Hybrid work. We believe this will achieve our joint aims of increased team productivity and well-being with strong collaborations, relationships and culture. We have already seen an increase in productivity in meeting more regularly in person. As a company, we see collaboration, relationships and culture as key to achieving success.

Office Search Survey

In October 2021 we ran a survey to determine team members’ preferences for the number of days per week in an office. At the time we had 8 people in the team. The results were:

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Benefits of Hybrid Working

Being in the office for certain amounts of time is associated with increased productivity with the following activities: on-boarding, creative discussions, innovation, brainstorming, coaching, training, and quick unblocking of problems. There is also some evidence that office-based work is associated with better mental health due to clearer boundaries between work and home.

On home working days in the hybrid model, there is no need for team members to commute, which aids in improving mental health and saves time. Being at home also facilitates ‘focus time’ where there may potentially be fewer interruptions, aiding productivity.

Interestingly, the hybrid approach has been found to be the most conducive of all for work culture and collaboration. Purely office-based cultures can end up overly cliquey, while purely remote cultures inhibit some important connections and conversations being initiated.