Facebook will reopen its offices but also extend teleworking - France 24

San Francisco (AFP)

Facebook announced on Wednesday that its employees will be able to work from home over the long term, including abroad, a move unlike its neighbor Apple, which instead seeks to bring its staff back to Cupertino.

From June 15, Facebook employees who can perform their work remotely will be able to request to perpetuate teleworking, the social media giant told AFP.

"We believe that the way we work matters more than where we are," said a spokesperson.

"We want to be the place where people can perform at their best while ensuring a seamless experience for all of our employees, wherever they are."

Silicon Valley firms, among the first in the United States to close their offices at the start of the pandemic, are at the heart of discussions on new working conditions.

As early as last year, Twitter, for example, offered its employees the opportunity to work from home indefinitely.

Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg estimated that half of the platform's workforce could work remotely within ten years.

Thanks to progress in the fight against the spread of Covid-19 and vaccination campaigns, the platform is targeting offices 50% open in the United States by early September, and 100% in October.

But it is also strengthening possibilities in terms of teleworking, including its support program for employees who wish to emigrate from the United States to Canada or from its “Europe-Middle East-Africa” region to the United Kingdom.

Google and Microsoft are also counting on hybrid systems.

Apple would like its employees to come back at least three days a week from the fall, but the iPhone manufacturer is encountering resistance.

Several dozen employees of the Californian giant Apple have expressed their skepticism about this idea.

"Without the inclusiveness that flexibility allows, many of us feel we have to choose between either our families, our well-being and the ability to do our best at work, or being part of Apple." , wrote 80 employees of the Apple brand in an internal letter published last Friday by The Verge.

© 2021 AFP