Microsoft will allow employees to work from home permanently if they choose, according to reports.
Washington, United States:
Software giant Microsoft will allow employees to work from home permanently if they so choose, US media reported Friday, becoming the latest employer to expand the work-from-home provisions triggered by the Covid-19 pandemic.
The Verge said that most of Microsoft’s employees are still at home as the health crisis drags on, and the company doesn’t expect to reopen its US offices until January next year at the earliest.
But when it does, workers can choose to work from their residences permanently, although in that case they will have to give up their office space.
“The Covid-19 pandemic has challenged all of us to think, live and work in new ways,” Microsoft’s chief personnel officer Kathleen Hogan said in a note to employees obtained by the technology news outlet.
“We will offer as much flexibility as possible to support individual work styles, while balancing business needs and ensuring we live our culture.”
In a statement to AFP, a Microsoft spokesperson did not address whether working from home would become permanent, but said: “Our goal is to evolve the way we work with intent over time, guided by input from employees, data and our commitment to supporting individual work styles and business needs while living our culture. “
The Verge report said that employees will need approval from their managers to work remotely permanently, but they can spend less than 50 percent of their week out of the office without approval.
Some employees will not be eligible for remote work arrangements, such as those who work in Microsoft labs or train other employees.
In its memo, the company co-founded by Bill Gates said its workers may be relocating to the United States or perhaps overseas, The Verge reported.
Those who relocate may see their salaries change depending on where they go, and while the company will cover employees’ home office expenses, it will not cover relocation expenses.
At the end of June, Microsoft employed 163,000 people, 96,000 of them in the United States, according to a securities document.
Some major tech companies have already allowed permanent work-from-home arrangements, including Facebook, whose boss Mark Zuckerberg said half of the social network’s staff could be permanently working remotely within five to 10 years.
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