Twitter Makes Working From Home a Permanent Option for Some Employees

Twitter’s experience during the pandemic has made the company realize it can let some employees work from home permanently. 

Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey on Tuesday told staff they could continue to work from home, even after the pandemic lockdowns are lifted, according to BuzzFeed. Only people with jobs that require a physical presence, such as server maintenance, will need to come in. 

Employees at the San Francisco-based company have been working from home since March in response to the pandemic. “The past few months have proven we can make that work,” a Twitter spokesperson said. “So 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. If not, our offices will be their warm and welcoming selves, with some additional precautions, when we feel it’s safe to return.”

The news may be a sign of things to come for the tech industry, which largely employs software engineers and white-collar workers who can work remotely. The pandemic has sparked speculation it may be unnecessary for Silicon Valley firms to maintain large office spaces in the future and instead shift to maintaining workforces remotely. 

Other companies such as Google, Facebook and Microsoft were also quick to institute work-from-home policies due to the pandemic. Now they’ve been telling employees to remain at home until October or through the end of the year. 

In Twitter’s case, the company has no plans to reopen offices before September, with only a few exceptions. “When we do decide to open offices, it also won’t be a snap back to the way it was before. It will be careful, intentional, office by office and gradual,” the spokesperson said.

The company has also canceled all in-person events for the year, and is refraining from sponsoring business travel until after August. Twitter employs about 4,900 workers.