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Mark Zuckerberg, in a rare display of human emotion, felt for his employees on Thursday. Zuckerbot, I mean, ‘berg announced that he and the rest of Facebook leadership will be revising the company’s work from home policies as the COVID-19 stay-at-home orders begin to wind down.
Facebook’s new WFH policy will only apply to new Senior Engineer positions in the US. Read: nerds. Those new hires will need to gain team leader approval, and current senior engineers will need to apply for the right, which will be based on performance reviews. Seems like a lot of work… I’ll just go back to the office.
Eventually, Zuck says the policy will be rolled out to those beyond the engineering department. The goal? Within 10 years, as many as half of FB’s 45k employees will be remote…or at least have the option to.
Facebook’s not the only company to explore loosening the shackles of employees that are typically chained to their desks. Coinbase, Shopify, and Twitter said that most employees will be working from home for the time being.
Jet Setting
“Can’t wait to move somewhere affordable” – all Facebook employees, probably.
Not so fast poindexter. While the move to WFH sounds enticing, there’s a catch. Employees must stay in the Bay Area.
Facebook told employees that they must notify the ‘Book if they’ll be moving elsewhere by January 1 of next year. Anybody who leaves Mordor, I mean Menlo park, will have their “compensations adjusted” for their new locations. So, a Facebook workload on a Sacramento salary? Not as enticing.
The bottom line…
Could we be seeing the end of the office as we know it?
With Big Tech leading the way, there’s a good chance that other industries will follow suit and cut the overhead. For many companies real estate remains one of its largest expenses.
This shift might also put added pressure on HR and recruiting departments. With this precedent set, how long before every new hire starts demanding WFH rights in his or her contract as a performance incentive? Only time will tell.
💧 “This is a slippery slope you’ve started down, Zuck… which is a common human term that you probably don’t understand.” (AJ, The Water Coolest HQ)
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