Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg announced that his company will permanently approve remote work even after mitigating closings due to the Corona pandemic, which accelerates the diversification of the geographic shape of the technology sector away from its home in Silicon Valley.
Zuckerberg said that the largest social network in the world would start "opening the door to remote employment" beginning in July, and expected that about half of the employees would work remotely over the next five to ten years, adding that the company would take a more "calculated approach" with existing employees. Based on the job and previous performance, set the beginning of the year 2021 as the deadline for the company’s modernization of employees ’job sites.
Work remotely in new offices
Facebook will build three new "compounds" in Atlanta, Dallas and Denver, where remote employees in those areas can meet from time to time. "This is not necessarily an office," Zuckerberg said. "The idea of these complexes is that we want to evaluate the validity of the idea of concentrating employment in some cities where we can reach hundreds of engineers."
Zuckerberg predicted changes in real estate, food and employment expenses, as it would adjust the high compensation packages common in Silicon Valley if Facebook employees chose to live in less expensive areas.
Zuckerberg said the impact on costs was unclear, as savings would be partly offset by additional costs related to travel and the techniques associated with setting up home offices.
The move comes in the wake of similar announcements earlier this month from Twitter and Square, which were the first major technology companies to allow remote work indefinitely. However, Facebook is much larger than the two companies, so its decision is likely to have a more pronounced impact on the industry's work culture.
Salary adjustment
Facebook has nearly fifty thousand employees, and its choice to move forward with a new teleworking structure is likely to have a clear impact on the San Francisco area, where the rapid growth of the technology sector has strained infrastructure.
Zuckerberg said that the company is committed to preserving its current office space, which includes the company’s headquarters, “Tony Menlo Park” designed by architect Frank Gehry, and includes a roof garden and a patio protected by redwood trees.
He explained that salaries will be adjusted if Facebook employees choose to live in less expensive areas, in line with the company's current cost of living laws, and added, "We pay well, mainly at the top of the market, but we pay the market price. This varies with the site, so we will continue this principle Here".
Zuckerberg added that internal surveys indicate that about 60% of Facebook employees preferred a flexible approach to work, mixing work at a distance and sometimes working in offices. Within that group, he said, just under half told that they would be moved to another area if they were given the option.
The move is by far the most important step by a tech giant to reimagine a business culture that will look like in the post-coronavirus world, as the epidemic upsets the offices and mobility habits of companies around the world.