Published 06:04 IST, May 22nd 2020
Facebook to let half of its employees work remotely for next 5-10 years
Mark Zuckerberg said that the California-based social media giant is planning to shift 50 per cent of its workforce to work from home for at least 5-10 years.
As the coronavirus outbreak had put major firms into unforeseen circumstances and pushed most employees to work remotely, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg has announced on May 22 that the California-based social media giant is planning to shift 50 per cent of its workforce to work from home for at least 5-10 years. Among many changes expected in the ‘post-COVID-19 era’, Zuckerberg claimed that Facebook would be “most forward-leaning company” on working remotely at their scale, therefore, the authorities are currently planning a “thoughtful and responsible” plan to implement the idea. However, Facebook co-founder noted that there are still many “open questions” about making it work but also acknowledged the benefits.
Facebook CEO said, “There are some very clear benefits to remote work. It lets us access talent pools outside of traditional tech hubs in big cities -- and that should help spread economic opportunity much more widely around the country and world while also helping us build a more diverse company.”
“It should be better for the environment because of reduced commuting. Since many people feel more productive outside the office, it should help us better serve our community. For us specifically, it should help us advance some of the future technology we're developing”, he added.
Employee experience of working from home
Zuckerberg said that the company had surveyed the employees asking about their experience of working from home amid the global health crisis leading to nationwide lockdowns. He revealed that more than 50 per cent of the workforce at Facebook admitted that they are as productive at home as they are in the office. Moreover, at least 40 per cent of employees are interested in working remotely full time but over 50 per cent wish to get back to office as soon as possible.
Zuckerberg said, “We asked our employees about their experiences working from home. More than half of them say they're at least as productive as they are in the office. About 40% are interested in full-time remote work, but more than 50% want to get back into the offices as soon as possible.”
“Of the people who want to work remotely, around 75% said they might move to another place -- and of those, 38% said they'd move to a big city while the rest said they'd live elsewhere,” he added.
Image Source: AP
Updated 06:04 IST, May 22nd 2020