Twitter announced Tuesday, May 12, that it will allow some employees to continue working remotely — even after the coronavirus pandemic has ended.
“If our employees are in a role and situation that enables them to work from home and they want to continue to do so forever, we will make that happen,” Twitter exec Jennifer Christie wrote in a blog post.
Christie said the social media company’s offices wouldn’t likely open until September and, even then, only on a “careful, intentional, office by office and gradual” basis.
Employees required to fix hardware and servers will be required to come into the office, according to an email CEO Jack Dorsey sent to employees earlier today first reported by Buzzfeed. Twitter did not immediately respond to a request for comment on which positions would be required to work or how many employees the new policy could affect.
The company had allowed employees to work from home in early March, ahead of when many official lockdowns went into effect. But, the plan to work in this “distributed” format was in the works ahead of the pandemic as well.
It’s inevitable that at least a few companies will let their employees work from home well past the conclusion of coronavirus pandemic and the social media platform has become the first.
The company is also canceling all in-person events for 2020 and severely restricting business travel until its offices are re-opened.
Twitter is also offering its employees $1,000 each to purchase supplies and equipment to work remotely. It isn’t clear yet whether those who choose to remain remote permanently will continue to get the subsidy.
