The COVID-19 pandemic forced many companies to shutter or deploy their employees to work from home, and according to both Facebook and Google, the setup will be the norm for the rest of 2020. The tech giants have indicated that while there will be personnel who will report back to the office, the majority will need to work remotely.
In Facebook's case, most offices will be reopened starting on July 6 but the social media firm has made clear that working from home setup will remain an option. In fact, for most of the Facebook workforce, estimated at around 48,000 in full-time status, the preferred mode for employees is to stay at home.
According to Business Insider, Facebook employees will not be required to head back to the office if they can perform their jobs the same way and with the same level of efficiency.
"Its [Facebook] significant digital infrastructure has allowed the company to continue functioning relatively smoothly while remote, and its business has fared better than many companies in the economic crisis," said the report.
In a recent statement, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg said his company would slow down the return of workers to physical offices deliberately as a way of preventing coronavirus infections.
"When society does eventually start re-opening, it will have to open slowly in staggered waves to make sure that the people who are returning to work can do so safely and that we minimize the possibility of future outbreaks," the company chief was reported as saying.
As an added precautionary measure, Facebook will not allow the holding of company events that will gather more than 50 persons at once and the rule will be in place until June 2021. This is a clear indication that the social networking site is fully aware of the extent of the pandemic, which likely will not be controlled for a long time.
Google, for its part, has announced this week that working remotely will be permitted for most employees until the end of 2020, per the report by CNET.
Google CEO Sundar Pichai has informed the company employees on Thursday that work from home is the best setup available in light of the health risks posed by the COVID-19 spread. A plan is in place for employees to return to their respective offices starting in June but this will be on a staggered basis.
Pichai emphasized that only employees whose work from offices is critical to Google will be called back to report. The rest can stay at home and do their work as the situation permits.
Google likewise assured that safety measures will be implemented to protect the health of the company workforce, which was last estimated to number at 120,000.
