Tech Companies to Let Many Employees Keep Working from Home
2020-05-29
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1American technology companies are looking ahead to the future of office work after the coronavirus crisis.
2Some are considering whether to permit employees to keep working from home, as most have been required to do for the past few months.
3Companies including Facebook, Microsoft, Apple and Twitter were among the first to send their employees home as the coronavirus spread to the United States.
4Now, some of their employees might never go back.
5The companies are studying ways to give their highly valued employees what they want.
6They are seeking to use their own technology to make remote work easier.
7They are also looking to hire new workers who live outside of big cities.
8Silicon Valley has long operated by establishing large work centers in major cities to appeal to high-quality workers.
9But the lasting effects of the pandemic could change that.
10Facebook founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg recently discussed the issue of full-time remote work in a company meeting broadcast live on his Facebook page.
11He said a company survey had found that about 20 percent of workers were "extremely or very interested" in moving to full-time remote work after virus-related restrictions are lifted.
12Another 20 percent said they were "somewhat" interested in the possibility.
13The largest group favored a work situation including both remote and in-office work.
14In the future, Zuckerberg said, up to half of Facebook's workers could be working remotely.
15But he noted that the changes are likely years away.
16"We want to make sure we move forward in a measured way," Zuckerberg said at the meeting.
17For now, employees at Facebook, Google, Twitter and others have been given permission to work remotely through the rest of the year.
18Microsoft has told its employees they can work from home until October.
19Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey recently announced the company plans to permit some employees to work from home permanently.
20Some of the company's new U.S.-based job listings give the choice for workers to either be based in one of several major cities or work remotely full-time from anywhere.
21Andy Challenger is a vice president at the private employment company Challenger, Gray & Christmas.
22He told The Associated Press that companies have gotten the chance to see the benefits of having employees work from home.
23"Many companies are learning that their workers are just as or even more productive working from home," he said.
24Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella also spoke about the issue at a recent developer conference.
25"Every organization will increasingly need the ability at a moment's notice to remote everything from manufacturing to sales, to customer support," he said.
26Microsoft's chief technology officer, Kevin Scott, had already been working a lot from home before the virus hit.
27He is based in Silicon Valley, while the rest of the leadership team is mostly based in Redmond, Washington.
28Scott said the experience of the last few months had sped up the process of employees trying to find the best methods and technology to successfully work from home.
29He added that the process requires learning the "culture" of keeping in touch with co-workers remotely.
30"That is getting so much better so quickly, he said.
31"I don't think I'm going to be commuting nearly as frequently as I was before."
32I'm Bryan Lynn.
1American technology companies are looking ahead to the future of office work after the coronavirus crisis. Some are considering whether to permit employees to keep working from home, as most have been required to do for the past few months. 2Companies including Facebook, Microsoft, Apple and Twitter were among the first to send their employees home as the coronavirus spread to the United States. Now, some of their employees might never go back. 3The companies are studying ways to give their highly valued employees what they want. They are seeking to use their own technology to make remote work easier. They are also looking to hire new workers who live outside of big cities. 4Silicon Valley has long operated by establishing large work centers in major cities to appeal to high-quality workers. But the lasting effects of the pandemic could change that. 5Facebook founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg recently discussed the issue of full-time remote work in a company meeting broadcast live on his Facebook page. He said a company survey had found that about 20 percent of workers were "extremely or very interested" in moving to full-time remote work after virus-related restrictions are lifted. 6Another 20 percent said they were "somewhat" interested in the possibility. The largest group favored a work situation including both remote and in-office work. In the future, Zuckerberg said, up to half of Facebook's workers could be working remotely. 7But he noted that the changes are likely years away. "We want to make sure we move forward in a measured way," Zuckerberg said at the meeting. 8For now, employees at Facebook, Google, Twitter and others have been given permission to work remotely through the rest of the year. Microsoft has told its employees they can work from home until October. 9Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey recently announced the company plans to permit some employees to work from home permanently. Some of the company's new U.S.-based job listings give the choice for workers to either be based in one of several major cities or work remotely full-time from anywhere. 10Andy Challenger is a vice president at the private employment company Challenger, Gray & Christmas. He told The Associated Press that companies have gotten the chance to see the benefits of having employees work from home. "Many companies are learning that their workers are just as or even more productive working from home," he said. 11Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella also spoke about the issue at a recent developer conference. "Every organization will increasingly need the ability at a moment's notice to remote everything from manufacturing to sales, to customer support," he said. 12Microsoft's chief technology officer, Kevin Scott, had already been working a lot from home before the virus hit. He is based in Silicon Valley, while the rest of the leadership team is mostly based in Redmond, Washington. 13Scott said the experience of the last few months had sped up the process of employees trying to find the best methods and technology to successfully work from home. He added that the process requires learning the "culture" of keeping in touch with co-workers remotely. 14"That is getting so much better so quickly, he said. "I don't think I'm going to be commuting nearly as frequently as I was before." 15I'm Bryan Lynn. 16The Associated Press reported on this story. Bryan Lynn adapted the report for VOA Learning English. Ashley Thompson was the editor. 17We want to hear from you. Write to us in the Comments section, and visit our Facebook page. 18________________________________________________________________ 19Words in This Story 20remote - adj. far away in distance 21pandemic - n. a contagious illness that spreads from one country to another 22survey - n. an examination of opinions created by asking people questions 23benefit - n. to be useful or profitable to 24at a moment's notice - phr. with little warning for time for preparation 25customer - n. a person who buys goods or services from a business or shop 26commute - v. regularly travel between home and work 27frequently - adj. often; on a regular basis