5 Companies Revolutionizing Remote Work Policies

As high numbers of employees prove they can work productively from their homes, many corporations are permanently changing their work-from-home policies to adapt to a more flexible environment.

Let’s take a look at five of the most prominent companies adapting their work location policies. As we move forward, it’s important to understand why some brands see the value in remote work - and why many other companies will likely follow suit.

1. Twitter

This social media giant was one of the first to announce its permanent switch to work-from-home setups. Although Twitter has not officially declared exactly which positions will work from home indefinitely, the brand has made it clear that WFH is the way of the future.

That’s a big statement coming from one of the leaders in social media. If Twitter employees don’t need to be in the office to perform their jobs, do other social media company employees?

Now, it’s important to note that WFH isn’t for everyone – and office spaces most certainly aren’t going completely obsolete after the pandemic dies down.

As safety must be the top concern with employees trickling back into office locations, many companies have taken to hiring contact tracers and taking employees’ temperatures as they return to office setups. Other businesses – like Twitter – have flat out decided to avoid the risk for the rest of 2020 and beyond.

Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, Twitter has expressed its devotion to keeping its employees safe. It has also proven its ability to scale and stay productive for the long-haul while working from various remote locations.

2. Nationwide Insurance

Our next company comes not from the world of social media, but from insurance. Nationwide Insurance has openly discussed just how productive its team has remained, even as it quickly transitioned to a new work-from-home model.

Now, the company plans to allow a large majority of its employees to continue working from home after the pandemic ends. It will likely retain small offices in several locations, but Nationwide is committed to perpetuating a flexible remote work policy in the future.

Should we expect other financial services to adopt more flexible remote work policies? Perhaps, especially businesses that are technology-enabled and predominantly online.

3. Facebook

Another social media platform at the forefront of remote work is Facebook. The company’s CEO Mark Zuckerberg has long been a proponent of remote work capabilities, and he’s expressed a serious dedication to future WFH setups.

Facebook leadership surveyed its workers during COVID-19 and reported its employees were experiencing immense benefits from working at home, and the company saw an overall improvement in employee retainment and workforce diversity.

The company soon plans to have “hubs” across the country to support hundreds of remote workers in different areas. Similar to Nationwide’s approach, Facebook wants to keep some brick-and-mortar offices while downsizing their overall real estate space.

4. Morgan Stanley

Returning to the realm of finance, even Morgan Stanley’s CEO James Gorman has stated he believes there will be more flexible work environments in the brand’s future. He simply doesn’t see the need for all of their office space now that roughly 90% of the employees have been working from home.

Overall, this seems to be a big theme with many of the companies changing their policies in managing remote teams. It’s become increasingly easy to have current employees work from home, as well as find new remote candidates.

Why bring people to an in-person office when you can achieve the same results online - with a smaller environmental footprint?

Whether you work for a huge wealth management group like Morgan Stanley or a small tech startup, regular office spaces are declining in popularity.

As Morgan Stanley moves forward, its leaders have even discussed letting most employees work from home for a portion of every month. That’s a huge leap from where finance companies put their priorities just a few short months ago.

5. Shopify

Last but not least, we’ll look at Shopify – an ecommerce tech company that’s fully embracing its status as an online entity - despite having some of the “coolest” startup offices around.

Lutke went on to say that the internet will no longer serve as a bridge to the office. Instead, the reverse will be true as people work from home and connect with colleagues from anywhere via the internet.

It’s been predicted that Shopify will now expand more fully into the global talent pool. The company won’t be restrained by any physical barriers, which makes it easy to hire people from around the globe with a wide variety of knowledge and talent.

Although Shopify hasn’t figured out all of the WFH logistics, they do know one thing: only a quarter of its employees (or fewer) will return to traditional office settings once all of the pandemic chaos has subsided. This company believes that remote work is here to stay, and there are many who agree.

Final thoughts

None of us can say for certain what the next year will hold for WFH policies - but we do know that remote work is on the rise.

With big companies like these paving the way for others, it’s highly likely that working from home will remain “the new norm.” The coronavirus has had many impacts, but one of its farthest-reaching effects is the newfound obsoleteness of many physical work environments.

We’ve all realized that a large chunk of today’s jobs can be completed with internet access and a technological device - from anywhere. As the virus fades from memory, which other companies will introduce permanent changes to their flexible work policies?