Is Your Company Going to Enforce a Work From Home Policy Till The End of 2020?

Covid-19 or the coronavirus pandemic of 2020 allegedly started in Wuhan, China and since then has spread worldwide. The world has had to go through the economic and non-economic impacts of this pandemic without an idea as to when this will come to an end…

Even when companies were forced to work remote for the safety of their employees and to minimize the effects of the spread, the economic impact of the disease has still been largely disruptive, causing the global economy a major setback over the last few months. The non- economic impacts like psychological impact and social distancing related anxiousness has resulted in fear and social unrest too. While economies slowly unlock and move towards the new normal, the fear born from the outbreak is still instilled in people’s minds.

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Given this situation, a lot of companies are promoting a long-term work from home policy and the ones who cannot are following the social distancing norms by restricting the number of their staff at office and focusing on having only those needed to help carry out required or essential operations. Let’s have a look at some companies, who in order to ensure safety during this pandemic have extended their remote work policies for the rest of 2020!

1. Shopify

Tobi Lutke, CEO of Shopify, recently announced that the Canadian e-commerce firm is going to keep its offices closed until 2021 and would allow most of their employees to work remotely even after the pandemic. This shift to a digital model by default is going to affect more than 5000 employees that are currently working from home. “Office centricity is over” quoted Tobi.

2. Twitter

Jack Dorsey, CEO of Twitter, told his employees that they are allowed to work from home for an indefinite period of time even after the Covid19 shutdown ends, apart from the employees for whom it’s mandatory to return. Eg. For jobs like sever maintenance. If the other remote employees want to come back it will be their decision to make. Twitter will also continue to suspend all business travel and will not hold any in-person events for the rest of 2020.

3. Square

After announcing remote work for Twitter, Jack Dorsey who is simultaneously the CEO of Square, a publicly traded payments company, announced indefinite work from home policy for the employees of Square. The policies mirrors a similar announcement from Twitter, this will apply to teams that can work remotely. Those who are required at office will continue to come with precautionary measures.

4. Upwork

Hayden Brown, the CEO of Upwork, a global freelancing platform, said that after 20 years of being a remote work company, Upwork has decided to now permanently embrace a “remote-first” model.

5. Facebook

Facebook, a social networking website, has decided to let employees work from home for the rest of 2020. The company employs nearly 50,000 people. It was among the first few companies to make this announcement. Facebook has plans of reopening their offices this July, with precautions. They will then determine the roles that will be required to be at office. The company has announced that the employees that are able to work remotely can do so until 2021 if they want.

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6. Zillow

In response to the structural changes brought on by the Covid19 pandemic, Zillow, a real estate listing platform, is adopting work from home by allowing its 5000 plus employees to go remote for the rest of the year. CEO of Zillow Rich Barton mentioned that this experience has changed his opinion on the work-from-home model.

7. Google

Google employees began working remotely starting March, 2020. In an all-hands meeting with his employees, CEO of Google, Sundar Pichai conveyed that they will continue to work from home for the remainder of 2020. While the majority will work remotely, the employees who need to return to work are likely to resume office from June/July. Needless to say that it will be with all the safety measures in place.

8. Microsoft

Microsoft, a leading tech giant, is allowing and encouraging its employees to work from home too. It is giving its employees the remote work option through October, an extension to the policy that began in March. This option will remain valid unless the employees are in an essential role that requires physical presence.

9. Amazon

Amazon, the world’s largest online retailer, has extended its work from home option at least till 2^nd October, 2020. Following a similar trend as its counterparts, this option is open for employees who work in a role that can be seamlessly done from home.

10. Sagicor

Sagicor – a leading insurance provider in the Caribbean has announced that its employees may be working from home till there is an effective vaccine found. The extension could be till 2021 also if required. It’s being said that the company had been monitoring the pandemic since it occurred in Wuhan, China and hence were able to make seamless transition to working from home.

While more companies and teams of various sizes join this growing list, the global workforce is trying to adapt to the changing work trends being enforced by this ongoing Covid-19 pandemic. Are you all set to work from home indefinitely?