BitPay decides to let all employees work from home permanently

Bitcoin (BTC) payment and wallet company BitPay has chosen to take its company's working atmosphere remote, permanently.

BitPay's team is "currently 100% remote due to covid and will be until further notice," the company's chief marketing officer, Bill Zielke, told Cointelegraph. "Then, employees will have option to use our offices or remain remote," he added. "We plan to have office space for meet ups, trainings, customer events, and company gatherings and events."

A poll from within the company revealed: "85% of employees preferred to work from home and felt they were more productive," said a Tuesday statement. "This insight coupled with the continuation in business, is a main reason the company chose to make working from home permanent."

With a sizable operation spread throughout the world, managing outposts in Atlanta, Buenos Aires, Amsterdam and beyond, BitPay has over 80 workers, the statement included. The company will retain a physical location in Alpharetta, Georgia to host any necessary in-person activities. 

As a niche largely held within the digital world, the crypto space often sees companies and individuals working remotely. A growing trend in light of COVID-19 prevention measures, remote work cuts out commute times, as well as serves up added flexibility and lower company costs stemming from renting a workspace. Cons, however, include less face-to-face interaction among staff and a greater need for trusting employees.

Andrew Kelin, marketing director of BitPay, explained in the statement: 

“It took a bit of adjusting to working from home because I am an outgoing and social person. [...]  I am grateful to have this flexibility and my team is able to collaborate and work together as if we were side-by-side.” 

According to Zielke, BitPay staff have not responded with any negativity regarding working remotely. "While the team in Argentina all said they would prefer to work from home and are more productive, 86% of the U.S. and 75% from Amsterdam employees said so as well," he noted.  

Russia has also seen remote workloads trend higher, evident in the country's demand for computer graphics cards, although part of the demand also stems from digital asset mining pursuits.

UPDATE Sept. 15, 18:58 UTC: This article has been updated.