Tech giant Microsoft has announced that it will be allowing more of its employees to work from home permanently.
The announcement was made on Friday as part of the company’s efforts to cope with the coronavirus pandemic.
In a report on The Verge, the vast majority of Microsoft employees are still working from home during the ongoing pandemic, the software maker has unveiled “hybrid workplace” guidance internally to allow for far greater flexibility once US offices eventually reopen.
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Microsoft also outlines the company’s flexible work arrangement plans in the future.
Microsoft will now allow employees to work from home freely for less than 50 percent of their working week, or for managers to approve permanent remote work. Employees who opt for the permanent remote work option will give up their assigned office space, but still have options to use touchdown space available at Microsoft’s offices.
“The COVID-19 pandemic has challenged all of us to think, live, and work in new ways. We will offer as much flexibility as possible to support individual workstyles, while balancing business needs, and ensuring we live our culture, ” Kathleen Hogan, Microsoft’s chief people officer told employees.
The company however admits that there will be some employees who may find the remote set up more difficult in executing their tasks.
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Jobs that require access to hardware labs, data centers, and in-person training will be those who may still need to go to offices. Employees will also be allowed to relocate domestically with approval, or even seek to move internationally if remote working is viable for their particular role.
Microsoft will be covering home office expenses for permanent remote workers.
Apart from Microsoft, Facebook has also allowed tens of thousands of its workers to do their jobs remotely in the next 5 to 10 years.
