Permanent Remote Work Policy – To be or not to be?

Some biggest Tech giants including Google, Facebook, Twitter, Shopify, Microsoft, Amazon along with many others shifted to remote work in early March. They allowed their employees to work from home as the coronavirus pandemic continues to spread.

Google, Facebook, Twitter… just to name a few have implemented serious remote work policies and practices for all of their employees around the globe. Despite pressure from the government to reopen places to revive a dying economy, these same tech titans have decided to continue working from home permanently or until 2021 at least.

Twitter

Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey emailed his employees to break the big news! Saying that the employees can work from home permanently even after the coronavirus pandemic lockdown ends. According to resources, Twitter was one of the first major tech companies to announce that they are going remote in response to the pandemic.

Similarly, Facebook and Google told their employees they can work from home till the end of the year. But Twitter was one step ahead, of course! 

The same order was extended to Square employees as well:

“We want employees to be able to work where they feel most creative and productive,” said the representative “Moving forward, Squares will be able to work from home permanently, even once offices begin to reopen. Over the past several weeks, we’ve learned a lot about what it takes for people to effectively perform roles outside of an office, and we will continue to learn as we go.”

Many big companies have finally realized that there are many positions within the company that can work from home easily. According to Dorsey himself, ‘the pandemic has proven that we can make it work.’

Google

After twitter’s big announcement, why should Google stay behind? After all, it’s Google we are talking about! In May, Google also announced that employees can work from home through the rest of the year and only those can join the office from June/July who really needs to, proper precautions are set in place and will be followed. 

Microsoft

Microsoft employees can continue to work from home for the time being. Even as the pandemic passes and orders of staying home are lightly and gradually lifted across the US, the company has told the employees that they can keep working from home through October.

“When restrictions are lifted, working from home will remain optional through October unless employees are in an essential role that local authorities mandate otherwise,” the representative said.

Microsoft is one of the biggest tech giants there is. The company has more than 144,000 employees around the world and according to statistics around 85,000 are in the USA. 

Facebook

Since permanent remote work is trending. Facebook decided to go with it as well. Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg announced that the company will allow permanent remote work for many of its existing employees. Few of facebook’s offices will open from July but only for 25% of employees. 

“We’re going to be the most forward-leaning company on remote work at our scale,” Zuckerberg says. “We need to do this in a way that’s thoughtful and responsible, so we’re going to do this in a measured way. But I think that it’s possible that over the next five to 10 years — may be closer to 10 than five, but somewhere in that range — I think we could get to about half of the company working remotely permanently.”

Apple

Where some tech giants are letting employees work from home either till October or the end of the year. Apple decides otherwise! 

Apple has been facing some secrecy issues and road bumps while working remotely. So it has decided to open the offices for employees who are working on confidential products. Apple will execute this strategy in phases. In the first phase, only those employees will be asked to join who are facing challenges while executing their work from home especially those who work on hardware related projects. 

On the other hand, Amazon has told employees who can work from home can continue to do so until October 2.

Is permanently working from home a solution?

According to a survey by Gartner, companies who have been forced to work from home because of the COVID-19 may continue to work from home even after the virus ends. 

According to a survey of 317 CFOs and business finance leaders. Gartner states that ‘74 percent of those surveyed expect at least 5 percent of their workforce who previously worked in company offices will become permanent work-from-home employees after the pandemic ends.’

The pandemic has literally forced employees to work from home. The transition was rather abrupt. Companies are extending their work from the home timeline to several more months now as the outbreak keeps spreading. This prolonged situation and the absence from offices has given birth to the debate whether workers will ever see the light of the day or be able to enjoy the physical working environment rather than virtual.

Even due to the available technology and digital solutions a little percentage around the globe worked from the comfort of their homes. Just in a few days, the percentage has risen rapidly. According to many resources, the transition is so transformative that employers might not let their employees come back to offices.

But we don’t see it as a permanent solution because if the remote work continues, it can lead to depression because of loneliness and minimum social interaction. Depression limits creativity and problem-solving capabilities and companies fear that work might suffer and collaboration may wither, so on and so forth.

Why has this change become so significant?

This change has seemed to become significant and permanent. Why? Simply because it benefits everyone, employees, or employers alike. Employees don’t have to spend time and energy on commuting to work. They can also maintain a proper work-life balance and productivity.

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On the other hand, companies have many financial benefits. Their expenses and spending are controlled which in return is keeping the cost in check. Many organizations that were resistant towards going remote had major concerns about employee productivity and data security.

But the pandemic has forced companies to go home despite the challenges and barriers of working from home. And let them explore opportunities that can increase employee productivity and lift barriers while working from home offices. Having said that, not everyone is suitable for working from home. For some it is effortless but for others not so good. 

Varying perspectives on remote work – To be or not to be?

• • The pandemic has proved that people are capable of working from home, with the same amount of productivity (or maybe more) than before.
    
  • Companies are more likely to save money and minimize expenses that come with monthly bills accumulated with other costs.
  • Working from home brings quality work to the table.
  • The pandemic is making companies invest in remote solutions and infrastructure to streamline work better.
  • But some employers want the control that comes with people working in the office environment aren’t very happy.
  • Working from home may or may not shift the cost from the company to employees in order to retain and motivate them better.

The bottom line is every company moving towards the future of remote working has had problems. And they might continue to face them unless they come up with the right solution because remote working doesn’t suit all.