Why Big Tech Companies Are Transitioning to Remote Working

The outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic struck the world. In fact, it exposed the global unpreparedness to deal with a deadly impact of this scale. Hospitals were overwhelmed, students were sent back home, and public offices had to close. Some big tech companies had to close and others had to lay off employees, and many people lost their jobs and savings. For those who were lucky to remain at a place of work, their employers asked them to stay home and work from there, paving the way for a new era of remote working. 

Of course, we cannot credit this whole idea of remote working to the outbreak of COVID-19 as it had existed even before the pandemic started. The work-from-home concept only intensified when everybody was advised to maintain social distancing as part of the standard operating procedures to mitigate the spread of the virus. 

The major pioneers of remote working in the pandemic era have been big tech companies. The pandemic made companies like Facebook, Twitter, Microsoft & Apple introduced the remote working concept to their workforce under special arrangements. However, in recent days, employers are changing their perspectives about permanently keeping employees working remotely. 

Some businesses are determined to maintain the work-from-home concept permanently, but other companies are unsure about it. For instance, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg said in an interview: “We are going to be the most forward-leaning company on remote work at our scale, with a thoughtful and responsible plan for how to do this.”

Facebook plans to transform 50 percent of its overall workforce to a remote structure within the next ten years. 

Other big tech companies such as Twitter and Google have also introduced a hybrid working concept with both remote & onsite integrations into their workforce. Twitter’s CEO, Jack Dorsey, said back in May 2020 that; 

Twitter employees can now work from home forever.” But he further clarified that; “If our employees are in a role and situation that enables them to work from home.”

Despite being one of the first companies to introduce remote working arrangements when the pandemic struck, Google’s position on this idea has dramatically shifted. It is now prioritizing the default work arrangement, where the most staff would be required to return to the office and work from there. 

Google employees who prefer to work from home remotely are supposed to apply for official permission from their supervisors. Google’s HR chief, Fiona Cicconi, noted, “It’s now been a year since many of us have been working from home, and the thought of returning to the office might inspire different emotions.”

Whether we believe it or not, the remote working concept is here to stay. The Big tech companies are likely to benefit from it as employees exploit technology to deliver productivity remotely. Of course, skeptics believe it is not the right idea because it frustrates and limits collaboration and teamwork effort.