Tech giants extend work-from-home policy; Twitter says employees can work from home ‘forever’
Twitter will allow its employees to work from home permanently if they want to, even after the company has decided to reopen its offices, Twitter announced on Tuesday (12 May). Earlier on 2 March, Twitter has “strongly encouraged” its employees to work from home, while making it mandatory for employees based in Hong Kong, Japan, and South Korea following the countries’ restrictions. Subsequently, all employees were mandated to work from home on 11 March in the wake of the pandemic. The company was one of the first companies to adopt a work-from-home (WFH) model amid the coronavirus pandemic, but claimed that it does not anticipate being one of the first to return to its offices, ABC News reported. In a blogpost on Tuesday, Twitter’s Head of Human Resource Jennifer Christie stated that employees who prefer to work remotely from home can now do so indefinitely, while those who wish to return to work in the office may need to wait until at least September. “The past few months have proven we can make that work. So if our employees are in a role and situation that enables them to work from home and they want to continue to do so forever, we will make that happen. If not, our offices will be their warm and welcoming selves, with some additional precautions, when we feel it’s safe to return,” Ms Christie said. She laid out Twitter’s plans for the next few months. The first point noted that the company will decide to reopen the offices, but it will be the employees' decision to come back to the office. Secondly, Ms Christie hinted that the offices will not be opened until at least September. “With very few exceptions, offices won’t open before September. When we do decide to open offices, it also won’t be a snap back to the way it was before. It will be careful, intentional, office by office and gradual,” she wrote. As for the final point, Twitter will suspend business travel until at least September as well as in-person company events for the rest of the year. Ms Christie added that the company will assess 2021 events later this year. “We’re proud of the early action we took to protect the health of our employees and our communities. That will remain our top priority as we work through the unknowns of the coming months,” she asserted.
