Twitter Says Its Employees Will Work from Home Permanently
This week, Twitter told employees their work from home positions are permanent, and there will be no in person invents until at least 2021.
- By Amanda Smiley
- May 15, 2020
One Business Insider article shared Twitter’s big announcement: CEO Jack Dorsey told employees via email that they would be allowed to work from home indefinitely, even after COVID-19 shutdowns end.
Dorsey also said that Twitter’s offices would not reopen until September 2020 at the earliest, according to BuzzFeed News. Like many other big tech companies (including Microsoft and Google), Twitter told employers to work from home in March—but the offer does not extend to employees whose jobs mandate that they return to the office, like those tasked with server maintenance.
Like many companies, Twitter has realized that many positions within the company can work from home. The pandemic has proven that “we can make it work.”
A Twitter representative said that even when offices eventually reopen, when and if employees will come back will be their decision to make. “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.”
That means that most open roles at Twitter will be remote-optional going forward, Dorsey said.
Twitter will continue to suspend all business travel and will not hold any in-person events for the rest of 2020, said the representative.
While other tech companies like Microsoft and Google have announced lenient work-from-home plans, few go as far as Twitter’s. On May 7, Google announced its employees would work likely from home for the remainder of 2020, according to a Forbes article. Google employees who need to return to their office can start as early as “June or July.”
As time continues and the country begins to see how the pandemic unfolds, one thing is for sure: workplaces will never be the same. This might mean more work from home policies, distributed shifts for coming into the office or more.
As the Forbes article said, “Technology companies have taken the lead in announcing extended work from home policies. It will be interesting to watch how other industries respond.”
About the Author
Amanda Smiley is an Associate Content Editor for Occupational Health & Safety Magazine and 1105 Media.