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- Even when the coronavirus pandemic is over, Microsoft will reportedly allow most of its employees to work from home indefinitely.
- According to an internal memo obtained by The Verge, employees will be allowed to work from home for less than half of their work week — and could work from home entirely if approved by their manager.
- Microsoft is the latest major tech company to adopt such measures in perpetuity, following similar choices by Facebook, Twitter, and Square, among others.
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Even when stay-at-home measures for the coronavirus pandemic are lifted, Microsoft employees won’t be required to come back to the office.
According to an internal Microsoft memo obtained by The Verge, Microsoft employees will be allowed to work from home for less than half of their work week. Pending manager approval, some employees will be allowed to work from home full time.
Given the nature of Microsoft’s business as a software and hardware creator, some employees with roles that require a physical presence won’t be able to take advantage of the new “hybrid workplace” policy, according to the report. Employees involved in hardware research and development, for instance, or employees involved with in-person training, won’t be able to do that work remotely.
For others, whose work can be done entirely remote, there are options to relocate — even internationally — if approved. The Verge reported that “most” of Microsoft’s 150,000 employees would be able to take advantage of one of these remote-work offerings.
As the coronavirus pandemic sent millions of Americans indoors in March, and working remotely became the norm for many company, some tech giants have decided to make working remotely a permanent part of their workplace.
Twitter and Square, for instance, will allow employees to work remotely in perpetuity, and Facebook is predicting that up to 50% of its staff going forward will work remote.
Microsoft did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the report.
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